Eidolon
by Avalon3
Summary: When Chakotay is possessed by an alien, Janeway faces both physical and emotional trials.
1. Chapter 1

**THE WRAITHS TRILOGY:**   
**EIDOLON**   
by Avalon (avalon99@telusplanet.net)   
http://members.dencity.com/avalon_online   
J/C, PG-13, 1/7 

* * *

  
NOTE: I wrote this story a couple of years back, but thought I should pull it out and dust it off. Hope you enjoy! 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Or perhaps curses to Linda Campbell, who didn't stop me from embarking on yet another genre of fanfiction when I already had a whole slew of X-Files stories waiting to be written! Thanks a lot, Linda! And to Sally and Bonnie, whose response when I said I was writing a Janeway and Chakotay story was: "Whoo-hoo!" 

DISCLAIMER: Of course these people don't belong to me. Do I look even remotely like Gene Rodenberry, Rick Berman, or anyone else associated with Star Trek? Thought not. 

* * *

EIDOLON I 

Something was wrong. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was definitely something wrong. Janeway frowned and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Her First Officer was behaving...oddly. It was nothing obvious, just little things that weren't ringing true -- things she hadn't realized she knew about Chakotay until they were no longer there. And there was something else... Janeway shook her head and glanced at the empty command seat then at the chronometer. He was late. Chakotay was never late. 

She had first noticed it earlier that morning during the briefing. Her First Officer had sat quietly in his chair, absorbing everything and making brief contributions to the conversation. There was nothing out of the ordinary in that. Janeway valued his ability to sit back, see the whole picture, and pinpoint the one thing that everybody else was missing. But this time there had been no moment of insight, no new outlooks on the problem. He had stood with the rest when she had dismissed them and had turned to leave. 

"Commander Chakotay." 

He had stopped. "Yes, Captain?" 

There it was again. That vague feeling of wrongness, of overt formality. Janeway had frowned. "Is everything all right?" 

He had hesitated, and an unreadable look had flashed across his eyes. "I'm...feeling a little under the weather." 

Concern had flickered through her. "You should see the Doctor." 

"I'll be fine Captain. Really. Was that all?" There was a faint note of impatience in his voice. 

"I...yes." 

He had nodded cordially and left the room, leaving Janeway alone with a growing sense of unease. 

That unease had not dissipated with the hours but had grown until she was jumpy enough to call a full battle drill just for the hell of it. To forestall this, Janeway buried herself in a report from Engineering and tried to ignore the chronometer. 

Several minutes later the door to the bridge hissed open. She did not turn around but listened to him move quietly across the bridge and sit down. She cast him a quick half-glance and nodded a greeting, her frown unconsciously deepening. Damn it. There was definitely something different about him. Something wrong. And she didn't know what. Janeway could feel a headache beginning to prickle behind her eyes and she looked away. 

* * * __

_She suspects. Yes. That's it, Kathryn. Look a little closer. Don't believe what your eyes are telling you. Trust your instincts_. 

Chakotay struggled once more against the bonds that held him. As ever, his struggles failed and he coiled himself once more into the back of his mind, watching and waiting with barely concealed frustration. 

It had begun the night before. He had been meditating when, as he found out later, Voyager had passed close by a small, unremarkable comet wandering aimlessly through the icy void. Ships sensors had noted it, an Ensign in stellar cartography had mentioned it briefly in her log...and that was it. Except that it hadn't ended there. 

He had been deep in a trance. There had been peace... serenity. And then...something...had ripped through his mind like paper, flung him screaming in silent agony into some dark corner of his mind, while it took his body. And there it remained, controlling his actions, talking to the crew...sitting next to the Captain. 

The Captain. She was the only one, so far...the first to suspect. Part of him wondered at that. Once he would have said that his Maquis crew knew him better than anyone else on Voyager. Now he wasn't so sure. 

Whoever, whatever this...thing...was that had stolen his body, it must somehow be accessing his memories. The masquerade was excellent, Chakotay had to admit. It hadn't made many mistakes. So far. Chakotay quelled the anger building within him and focused once more on Janeway.__

_Look at me, Kathryn. Please._

Chakotay saw Janeway give him another sidelong glance. He could read the tension and confusion in her posture. 

_That's it, Kathryn...Your suspicions are correct..._

* * * 

Janeway peered surreptitiously at her First Officer. To all intents and purposes, he was scanning a report, sitting beside her just as he did every day. And yet, why were all her instincts screaming at her? Why did she feel this sense of...dread when she looked at him? For a moment she weighed her options, then, abruptly coming to a decision, turned to the man beside her. 

"Commander." 

He looked up. "Yes, Captain?" 

"Are you feeling better?" 

"Yes, Captain." The note of impatience was back. 

Janeway hesitated and considered letting the matter drop. After all, what was she supposed to say? 'By the way, Commander, I've noticed that you seem to be behaving oddly. No, I don't have any evidence to support that conclusion, just gut instinct and an impending sense of doom. Care to explain?' No. Definitely not. But the nagging sense of urgency growing within her wouldn't let her ignore this. She straightened her shoulders. 

"I'd like to see you in private, please." 

"Of course, Captain." 

She rose and turned toward the door. He did the same. Then, a movement from behind her made her half turn. There was a startled cry from Ensign Kim...and something hit her hard across the right cheekbone. She staggered backward, her vision temporarily blurring. 

There were shouts and the sound of hasty movement from behind her and then Janeway found herself being unceremoniously dragged to her feet, a muscular arm locked tightly around her neck and a phaser pressed into her side. She arched her back to try to ease the pressure on her throat, pulling futilely at the arm. Chakotay's arm. 

"Move and she dies." It was Chakotay's voice, but the tone was cold and ruthless, a tone she had never heard from him. The hurried movements of her crew stilled and silence slowly descended. Janeway blinked away the remaining spots dancing before her eyes as her face began to throb unmercifully. Chakotay (but it's not Chakotay, her subconscious mind screamed) was holding her tightly against his body as a shield. Several phasers were aimed at them both. The man holding her spoke again. 

"And don't even think about stunning both of us -- I've got this phaser set on particle stream -- if I take my finger off the trigger, it goes off...and so does she." 

Janeway believed him. There was no sense of deceit in his voice. He would kill her without a moment's thought. Fighting off a sense of unreality, Janeway met Tuvok's eyes as the rest of the bridge crew hesitated. 

"Do what you have to, Lieutenant..." Chakotay's arm tightened around her throat, cutting off her words. And her breath. She had to do something. And quickly. Janeway shifted her weight then lashed backward with one foot. He shifted with her, and her kick met only empty air. The chokehold tightened, and she coughed, pulling again at his arm. Ignoring her struggles, he spoke. 

"Everyone back away from the door -- slowly. Stay where I can see you. No tricks, or you'll be missing one commanding officer. Permanently." 

"Commander Chakotay..." Tuvok's voice was calm as ever, but Janeway could sense his concern. 

"It's not Chakotay," she managed to gasp. Tuvok's eyes went once to the Captain then back to her captor even as he moved obediently aside with the rest. Janeway felt herself being dragged step by step back toward the doorway. 

"Captain?" 

"It may look and sound like Chakotay but it's not him, Tuvok." His grip had loosened a little and her voice was growing stronger. Janeway continued, directing her words now to the man who was holding her a prisoner. "Let me go. We can talk about this." They had reached the door. 

"It's too late for talking." The phaser pressed deeper into her side and Janeway clenched her teeth. The door slid open behind them. He paused, looked over his shoulder, then pulled her through it. It closed silently behind them. 

* * * 

Chakotay threw the entire force of his mind against the alien in his body. He could not allow this to happen, could not let this...creature...hurt the Captain. His body was being used against the one person he had vowed he would never harm. When he heard her gasp with pain, anger blazed through him like an inferno. 

It was no use. Nothing he did could penetrate the barriers that had formed around him. The effort left him exhausted and weakened. He sent a silent apology winging toward the woman in his arms even as he fell back into the prison that his mind had become. 

* * * 

Several members of the crew were treated to the unique sight of the First Officer holding the Captain hostage before Tuvok's orders had the corridors cleared. The man holding her lengthened his stride and it took Janeway only a moment to recognize their destination -- the shuttle bay. 

She purposely tried to slow their pace but his grip on her throat tightened until she thought better of it. She wouldn't be able to help her rescuers if she were unconscious, after all. Within moments, it seemed, they had reached the shuttle bay. 

The lock did not respond to the code he entered. Without pausing, Janeway's captor removed the phaser from her side long enough to burn through the lock...and then they were in. He dragged her to the shuttlecraft, keyed open the door, and shoved her inside. Then, closing the door behind him, he flung her into the pilot's seat. 

"Fly." 

Janeway stiffened. "No." 

That stopped him. Surprise flickered across his face, in an obscene parody of an expression she had seen Chakotay wear, many times before. But this wasn't Chakotay. 

"Who are you?" She fought to keep her voice even, suppressing the need to give in to a coughing fit. 

"I'm the man who's going to kill you if you don't get this thing in motion." He leaned menacingly closer. 

Janeway suppressed the urge to gulp and look away. She'd never backed down from a fight in her life and she certainly wasn't about to begin now. Besides, she needed only a few more moments before Tuvok would be able to beam her away to safety... 

"Where's Commander Chakotay? What have you done with him?" 

"Why, right here, Kathryn. I'm right here." 

Her eyes narrowed. "I don't care what you look like -- You're not Chakotay." Just keep him talking for a little while longer, she thought. Just a few more minutes... 

As if reading her mind, he reached past her and powered on the shields. Damn! They wouldn't be able to transport her out now. She was on her own. Janeway looked back up at the man standing above her...and found herself staring down the end of his phaser. 

"You will power up the engines and fly us out of here now. This is not a request." If his voice had been cold before, it was positively glacial now. 

"Fly it yourself." She turned away, folded her arms, and stared resolutely out the viewscreen. 

Locked in his prison, Chakotay could feel a wave of outrage sweep over the alien and a chill went through him. _Please, Kathryn, be careful._

The being reached out, dragged the woman to her feet and slammed her against the bulkhead with all the force in Chakotay's arms. Pain flickered through her eyes but she made no sound. She glanced down at the phaser in his hand. 

"If you shoot me with that," she said contemptuously, "who's going to fly this ship?" It was apparent that this...person, whoever he was...couldn't fly the shuttle. He might know enough to impersonate Chakotay, but piloting a shuttle was obviously beyond his abilities. 

The alien glanced down at the weapon, smiled slightly (that was all wrong...it was Chakotay's smile, but it wasn't Chakotay behind it) and returned it to his belt, then reached past her and powered up the weapons. "If you don't fly this ship out of here, I'm going to start firing. At random," he said conversationally. "I think even a little shuttle like this could do a fair amount of damage to Voyager. Especially from the inside. So...shall we?" He sat down in the co-pilot's chair and waved a hand toward the shuttle doors. 

Their gazes clashed. Janeway was the first to look away. She didn't have a choice. Damn. Clenching her jaw, she reached out and brought all the systems on line with a cool professionalism that masked the turbulent emotions inside her. Within moments the shuttle was humming with energy and almost lifting itself from the bay floor. The doors, however, remained stubbornly shut, even when Janeway entered her command code into the computer. 'Good thinking, Tuvok,' she said silently. They weren't going anywhere. 

"Shoot them out." The alien sat down next to her. She gave him another incredulous glance. 

He didn't even bother to threaten her this time, just turned and looked at her. 'If you don't do it, I will' the look said. Janeway glanced away. She believed him. But the thought of firing on her own ship...Instead she reached up and touched her communicator pin before he could stop her. 

"Janeway to Tuvok." 

"Tuvok here, Captain. Are you all right?" 

"Yes. I want you to open the bay doors." The person beside her quelled his instinctive movement, and allowed her to continue, watching her intently. 

"I do not think that is a good idea, Captain." 

Janeway glanced briefly at her companion. "Neither do I. Unfortunately we don't have a choice. If the doors aren't opened, he's going to start shooting. Voyager can't sustain that sort of damage. Open them, Tuvok." 

"Captain..." 

"Do it. That's an order, Lieutenant." 

The channel went dead. Several seconds ticked by, then an alarm blared and the shuttle bay doors slowly opened. Janeway nudged the shuttle toward the widening gap. Ponderously, the ship left the confines of Voyager for open space. 

* * * 

Janeway glanced at the person in Chakotay's body, even as she noted Voyager swinging around to set a pursuit course behind them. "Now what?" she said. 

"Now..." He reached across her and entered a brief series of numbers into the main computer, "we watch the fireworks." 

"What...?" She started to say, then fell silent as her instruments suddenly went berserk. Hastily she brought Voyager up on the shuttle's viewscreen, watching speechlessly as a power surge flooded across the hull, shorting out everything in its wake. Within moments, every external light on Voyager had gone out and the ship had begun to drift helplessly off course. Anger coursed through her. 

"What have you done to my ship?" Her voice was laced with venom. 

For an instant, Chakotay was glad that it wasn't directed at him. Well, not at him, precisely. Still, the attack on her ship had obviously sent her temper soaring to a dangerously high level. _ Please -- Don't do anything stupid, Captain._ He watched for a breathless moment before she swallowed hard, quelling whatever impulses had been raging through her. Chakotay heaved an inward sigh of relief. 

"Nothing much, just an old Maquis trick," the other was saying. "I've put them out of the hunt for a while. Now, set this course." He handed her a datapadd with a set of coordinates. Janeway glanced down at it. 

"What is this place?" 

"You'll find out soon enough. Now do it." 

Janeway didn't argue. She entered the coordinates, set the ship on automatic, then turned to the man beside her. 

"Now what?" she said again. 

He stared out the window at the stars blurring past them. "Now we wait." He fell silent. 

Janeway frowned, ignoring the pain the movement caused in her face. "Who are you?" she repeated. 

"What makes you think I'm not Chakotay?" 

Janeway stiffened. "Let's see," she said mockingly, "You've attacked my crew, sabotaged my ship, and kidnapped me. None of those are very high on Chakotay's list of things to do. Secondly, you don't move, act, talk, or sound like him. So I want to know...who the hell are you and where is my First Officer?!" Her words took on a dangerous tone. 

He looked back at her. "My name is Eidolon. At your service," he said mockingly. 

Eidolon. Well, that was a start. She repeated the question that was uppermost in her mind. "Where is Commander Chakotay?" 

"Gone. Dead." 

A chill went through her. "I don't believe you." 

He looked more closely at her. Then he smiled. A nasty smile that sent a shudder up Janeway's spine. "Believe it," he said, "I killed him and took his body. And he never even put up a struggle." 

It was the last sentence that set her reeling emotions back on an firmer keel. Chakotay would never have given up, not without fighting to the last bitter inch...and if Eidolon was lying about that, then he could be lying about everything else. "I don't believe you," she said again firmly. 

Janeway watched his eyes narrow then Eidolon flicked out one finger to lightly brush her right cheek. Even that faint touch hurt, and she involuntarily winced. A smile touched his lips and he returned his gaze to the stars. 

"I don't care." 

Chakotay winced inwardly too. There was already a mark on her cheek where he...where Eidolon had hit her, and it was evident from the stiff way she sat that other bruises must be forming from when he had slammed her against the bulkhead. A cold rage began to replace the anger that had been burning inside him. He would stop this alien, he swore. Somehow... 

END OF PART ONE 


	2. Chapter 2

**THE WRAITHS TRILOGY:**   
**EIDOLON**   
by Avalon (avalon99@telusplanet.net)   
http://members.dencity.com/avalon_online   
J/C, PG-13, 2/7   


* * *

EIDOLON II 

  


Stars trailed past the shuttle in a continuous stream as Janeway and her captor sat in strained silence. Finally the woman spoke again. "Where are you taking me?" 

"My home planet. I have...some...unfinished business." 

She was somewhat surprised that he had even bothered to reply. Following up on her momentary advantage she pressed for more answers. "Why did you attack my crew?" 

"They were in my way. Besides, they annoyed me. As do you. Shut up, Kathryn, or I shall shut you up permanently." The conversational tone of his voice was belied by the very real threat lying beneath it.   
  
For a moment Janeway debated doing just that...being a good little hostage and hoping she would get out of this alive...but that had never been her style. No one had ever accused her of being timid. Reckless sometimes, idiotic on occasion, and even damned annoying, but never timid. Besides, any information she could gain would help her...and Chakotay. 

"I don't think so," she said aloud. 

Eidolon gave her an annoyed glance. "Don't what?" 

"I don't think you can kill me just yet. We might be travelling along quite nicely on automatic for now, but unless you've had a crash course in piloting Starfleet shuttlecraft, you need me. So I suggest you keep your threats to yourself." 

He leaned closer to her, and Janeway had to suppress the urge to flinch backwards. This was all wrong. This was Chakotay's body. He wasn't supposed to behave like this; she wasn't supposed to be afraid of him... But Chakotay wasn't in control right now, the Captain reminded herself. 

Eidolon smiled, a menacing parody of Chakotay's warm expression. "There are worse things than death, you know, Captain. I could make you wish you were dead, while still leaving you quite capable of landing this ship..." 

He didn't miss the faint flicker of fear in her eyes. And neither did she. Janeway's chin came up and the fear was replaced by challenge. 'Try it,' her suggestion seemed to say, 'and you will more than regret it.' 

For a moment Eidolon was tempted. There were... things... he could do to her that would have her screaming for oblivion, but despite what he said, he wasn't sure she _would_ be able to pilot the shuttlecraft afterwards. Perhaps when they landed... Eidolon looked away, allowing his mind to dwell on what he could do to her when they arrived. When he no longer needed her... His smile widened as he stared out the window. 

Janeway noticed the smile out of the corner of her eye and shuddered slightly. She might have just miscalculated, she realized. 'Time to think of a plan, Kathryn', she decided, 'because you probably won't get a chance later...' Unfortunately though, her mind remained frustratingly blank. The only course of action she could see was to keep trying to draw him out in conversation, and that had its own dangers, as she had already discovered. 'Oh well, in for a penny...'   
  
"How did you get on board my ship?" 

The question startled him, and he turned back to her in annoyance, dragging his mind away from whatever thoughts had been occupying him. Suddenly Janeway realized she didn't want to know what those thoughts had been. The expression on his face was not a pleasant one. 

"Has anyone ever told you that you are a very irritating female?" 

Janeway swallowed, but carefully maintained her composure. "Lots of times. And you haven't answered my question." 

"Through the hull. What else do you want to know?" Sarcasm coloured his voice. 

"What you are. What your intentions are. What you've done with Commander Chakotay. Where we're going. Why..." 

He cut her off in mid-flow. "You are _definitely_ the most annoying human I have met. I can't imagine why Chakotay was so attracted to you." 

That silenced her, but Janeway quickly rallied. "Fine. Then we'll just go back to my ship, you give Chakotay back his body, and you can be rid of me. No problem." She stared determinedly out the window, refusing to dwell on what he had just told her. 

"I'm afraid that's not an option right now, Kathryn." She flinched at his use of her name. "It bothers you, doesn't it?" he continued. 

"What?" she asked harshly. 

"The fact that I accessed his thoughts and memories before I killed him." 

Janeway flinched again. "He's not dead," she said. He couldn't be. She wouldn't let him be dead. This damned alien may have stolen his body, but he was still in there somewhere. She was sure of it. He had to be... 

Eidolon gave her a puzzled stare. "Why do you insist that I'm lying, Kathryn? I told you he's dead. Why do you refuse to believe me? Or is it that you harboured some feelings for him too? If so, you really should have acted on them. It would have saved the poor man so many sleepless nights..." His voice took on a mocking tone. 

"Enough!" Janeway's hands clenched into fists and she refrained from launching herself at Eidolon's throat only by the sheer force of her will. It wouldn't help, and it might just get her killed. Still, the thought was tempting... As for the rest...she could feel her cheeks beginning to burn. Great. Not only was she being held captive by a body-stealing alien, but now she was blushing. Damn. She fought to get her emotions back under control. 

When she spoke again, her words were calm, even though her cheeks remained a rosy pink. "I don't believe you because you've given me no reason to. There's no proof that what you've told me is anything but a lie. And as for Chakotay's thoughts, they're _his_ thoughts and they're private. I don't want to hear any more." 

Eidolon was beginning to enjoy this. There were obviously more ways to torment this human than he had originally anticipated. "But Kathryn," he said, "I could tell you such things about him. And his feelings for you. Did you know that..."   
  
"Shut up. Or the shuttle goes off-line right now and we drift through space until Voyager catches up with us." Her tone held no compromise. 

For a moment Eidolon hesitated then decided that she probably meant it. One _could_ push these humans too far, he had discovered. And reaching his destination was more important than enjoying himself. Perhaps later... "As you wish," he replied tauntingly. A strained silence fell. 

* * * 

If her mind had been blank before, it was a veritable void now. Janeway couldn't have summoned up enough strength of mind to tie her shoes, let alone devise an escape. Chakotay... No. Don't think about it. Think about getting out of this mess, getting that...parasite... out of his body, and dealing with...that...later. Much later. She took a couple of deep breaths and stared unseeingly out the window as her poise slowly returned. 

* * * 

Chakotay watched his Captain trying to regain her composure and cringed inwardly. For a moment he was almost glad that he couldn't speak to her. Bad enough that he had physically hurt her...now Eidolon was playing with her emotions, toying with her like a cat with a string. And there wasn't a single thing he could say or do to help her. She was on her own. 

His mind turned to the rest of the conversation. Did the alien really believe he was dead? Was Eidolon truly unaware of Chakotay's presence, trapped somewhere in the back of his mind? If that were true, he might be able to use it to his advantage. Somehow. And...why wasn't he dead? A possible answer flickered across his thoughts -- he had been meditating when Eidolon had taken his body, had already partially been...elsewhere. Perhaps the trance had protected him. If so...he might be able to use that to free himself. With a sudden upswing of hope, Chakotay turned his thoughts toward last night, trying to ignore the sight of Janeway as Eidolon watched her through hooded eyes. 

* * * 

It had taken a while, but Janeway had finally regained mastery of her body's reactions and control of her mind, and, as a not-so-inconsequential side-effect, a plan. True, it wasn't much of a plan, but it was the best she could do at the moment. And it wasn't as if she had a lot to work with. Ignoring the fact that someone more logical or less desperate would not call it a plan at all, but almost certain suicide, Janeway went over the details once again in her mind. 

It seemed she wasn't a moment too soon. A distant, M-class planet was growing larger in the viewscreen and beside her Eidolon sat with barely suppressed impatience. She looked at him for the first time since his revelation about Chakotay, and a pang went through her. What if the alien were telling the truth? What if Chakotay were really... 'No. Don't think it. He's not dead. You'd know if he were dead...' Ignoring the alarming emotions that that thought generated, Janeway returned her gaze to the planet ahead. 

It was small and greyish brown, with hints of blue here and there. There were a few small oceans, but overall it consisted of several large continents joined by vast land bridges. There was little cloud cover. Janeway wondered about the atmosphere. If it were anything but oxygen and nitrogen-based, Eidolon wouldn't be inhabiting Chakotay's body for long. Of course, neither of them would be around to celebrate that fact... 'Stop borrowing trouble, Kathryn,' she told herself firmly, 'You have enough to worry about.' She reached forward and set the shuttle back on manual, taking the instruments and heading for a low-level orbit. Eidolon watched her, but said nothing. 

"Where do you want me to land?" 

The alien brought up a schematic on the computer and pointed. "There." Janeway glanced across. It was in the Northern hemisphere, not far from the Equator. She angled her trajectory a little more and sent the shuttle soaring through the exosphere. Turbulence buffetted them and she quickly realigned the shields as they sank deeper into the atmosphere. She spared a quick glance at the sensors and was relieved to note that it was breathable...there was a bit more nitrogen, a bit less oxygen, and a few exotic trace elements...but other than that it might have been Earth. Good. She really hated breathing gear... Although she doubted she would ever get the chance to use it if her plan failed... Janeway had the nasty suspicion that Eidolon intended to kill her as soon as they were on the ground. Well, he wasn't going to get that opportunity, she told herself firmly. 

They passed rapidly through the stratosphere and then they were skimming low over rocky terrain, the shuttle casting a swift-moving shadow over patches of small, stunted vegetation and the occasional weathered tree. 

"Over there." Eidolon pointed straight ahead. Over there, indeed. Janeway suppressed a smile. That would do nicely. There was a series of rocky outgrowths -- tall towers of rock and stone, some linked at the top by capstones, with narrow canyons threaded between them. Eidolon was indicating the clear space just to the left, but Janeway ignored him. With a sudden jerk of the controls, she sent the shuttlecraft swinging onto its side, heading straight toward the monoliths. Caught by surprise, the alien clawed frantically at his chair. 

"What do you think you're doing?" For the first time, there was a trace of fear in his voice. 

Janeway had no time to respond. She was too busy threading the shuttle between the first two towers, taking a narrow passage that had never been designed to accomodate something so large that was still moving at nearly half the speed of sound... Pillars whistled by, perilously close. Janeway clenched her jaw and ignored everything except flying the shuttle. 'Down a bit, through there... careful!' The shuttle dropped at an alarming rate to dive under a capstone, then practically stood on its nose as she wrenched it around to avoid a rock wall directly before them. The inertial dampeners whined at the sudden demands on them and then they were swooping around in a steep bank that should have stalled the engine...but didn't. Janeway braced herself against the effects of the turn and threw all her strength into her battle with the controls. Seeing a narrow gap, she threaded the shuttle through it, resisting the impulse to close her eyes. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all... 

Beside her, Chakotay's face had gone pale as Eidolon watched the canyon walls speeding past them. "Are you insane?" he shouted, trying to maintain his balance. 

"Probably." Janeway turned the ship completely on its side to pass through the far end of the canyon, then continued the roll as something sheered off the starboard side. The ship shuddered, dipped slightly, then regained altitude, albeit in an inverted position. Eidolon looked _up_, saw the ground rushing by above his head, and promptly turned grey. Managing to prise the fingers of one hand from his chair, he reached for his phaser. 

"Get us out of here. Land this thing now." He waved the weapon for emphasis. 

Janeway didn't spare him a glance, being too busy coaxing a series of aileron rolls out of the reluctant shuttle while dust and rocks were kicked up in their slipstream, obscuring the rear sensors. "If you shoot me now, we both die," she managed to say. Then all her attention was caught up in pulling the ship into a steep climb to avoid a fallen boulder. They soared up and over it then she threw the vehicle into a quick snap roll and dive, sending the shuttle screaming back into the ravines. 

No, this was definitely not one of her more brilliant notions, she decided as something else ripped away with a tortured scream of metal. Crash the ship. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time... She would be ready for the impact, Eidolon would not. She could use that advantage to take the phaser, gain control of the situation... But now that the moment had arrived, Janeway was finding it incredibly difficult to send the ship plummeting into the ground. Purposely crashing a shuttlecraft was not something they had covered at the Academy. Most of her teachers' efforts had involved keeping the things _in_ the air. 'Still,' thought Janeway as the ship bucked again and she neatly lopped off a small outcropping of rock, 'crashing the ship might not be a problem after all, given the way things are going...' Ahead lay a dizzying labyrinth of stone and she caught her breath. 

The end came when they were once more inverted, sailing through a shuttle-sized hole in a monolith the size of a small barn. Janeway snap-rolled again, hit the reverse thrusters and spun the ship back on its previous course to avoid an thick tangle of towers. The ground rushed by only inches below them. Ahead lay another inpenetrable thicket of stone. Janeway was preparing to swing the shuttle around it when she felt fingers clutching tightly at her arm. 

"Land. Now!" His voice was hoarse with panic. 

Janeway jerked free, but that was enough. All her options had suddenly vanished. Taking a deep breath, she abruptly shed all speed, hit every reverse thruster she had, and aimed the shuttle at the ground in a shallow dive, ignoring the strangled cry that came from Chakotay's throat. 

For an long moment they sailed along the base of columns the size of redwoods, then Janeway braced her feet, let go of the instruments, and threw up her arms to protect herself. Another heartbeat passed and then they were down, cutting a deep wake in the sandy ground. Despite this, the shuttle did not slow noticably until one side hit a pillar. The ship veered left, digging itself even deeper into the sand while the rear rudder was torn completely away. The tormented shriek of metal drowned out the sounds of the straining engines. Inside, the inertial dampeners flared then exploded. With one more bucketing leap and a last painful scream the engines stalled, and the shuttle settled deeper into the earth like a wounded bird. Silence slowly descended. 

END OF PART 2 


	3. Chapter 3

**THE WRAITHS TRILOGY:**   
**EIDOLON**   
by Avalon (avalon99@telusplanet.net)   
http://members.dencity.com/avalon_online   
J/C, PG-13, 3/7   


* * *

EIDOLON III 

  


Janeway slowly lifted her head from the shattered viewscreen, wondering if she were still alive. She twisted slightly in her seat and abruptly decided she was. The afterlife wouldn't hurt so much. Ignoring the throbbing in her forehead from where it had connected with the broken plasteel, she turned slightly to look at the man beside her. 

Chakotay's body was slumped over the console, blood trickling from a shallow cut on his forehead. Her heart gave a painful lurch and she reached out one hand to his throat. His pulse throbbed beneath it reassuringly and after a moment she pulled away. 'Hurr,' she told herself. 'The phaser...' Stiffly she sat back, looking for the weapon and trying to ignore the damage to both herself and the shuttle. 

There -- Lodged halfway under her seat. Wincing a little, she stretched a hand, retrieved it, and instantly felt much better. She was in control again. Things were looking brighter already. 

With a muffled groan, the Captain pulled herself to her feet and limped toward the rear of the cabin, keeping a careful eye on the unconscious man in the co-pilot's seat. The shuttle had come to rest at a steep angle, one side half-buried in the sand, the other leaning against a rock tower. Janeway braced herself against the unnatural tilt of the floor. 

Chakotay stirred and moaned. No. Not Chakotay. Eidolon. 'Hurry!' Leaning against a bulkhead, Janeway tried to pull open a metal hatch. It refused to move. She scowled at it, then hit it with one fist. It sprang open. With a hasty glance over her shoulder, she reached in, pulled out a handful of fibre cables, and cut them with the phaser. Then she turned back to Eidolon. 

She paused a moment. It felt...wrong...to bind his hands like this. Janeway gave herself a mental kick. If she wanted to stay alive, she had to stop thinking of him as Chakotay, had to suppress the instinctive urge to trust him... With a curse, she dragged his hands behind his back and secured them tightly with the cables. Then she stepped back and surveyed her handiwork. He did not move. 

Janeway took a deep breath, wincing as her ribs complained, and realized she was trembling. Shock, setting in, she decided. 'Perfectly understandable,' she decided, as she painfully began to check the few instruments not destroyed in the crash. 'It's not every day that one is kidnapped by one's First Officer and crashlands on an uncharted planet...' 

Five minutes later, Janeway tossed back her hair, which had loosened from its tight knot and was now hanging annoyingly in her eyes, and scowled at the console. The shuttle was dead. There wasn't enough power left to fry an egg, let alone get off the surface of the planet. Even sending a distress signal was out of the question. 

Janeway stood back and checked her supplies. There weren't many. The shuttle had been almost empty when they had launched it, with only the standard emergency and medical kits on board. Unfortunately, both had perished when the inertial dampeners had exploded. The automatic fire suppression gear hadn't helped either. The one tricorder left whined alarmingly when she turned it on, and its displays flickered off and on...but it was better than nothing. So...she silently added up her assets -- one phaser, one semi-functioning tricorder, her wits, and a First Officer currently inhabited by an alien parasite. Damn. 

The alien parasite stirred again, his eyes flickering open. He blinked several times then focused on her. Janeway stared impassively back. 

"You're insane," he whispered. 

"Probably," she agreed again. "But it worked." She lifted the phaser so that he could see it. 

He tensed, then frowned as he realized his hands were bound. An expression of rage crossed his face. "Damn you..." 

"You can swear at me all you want later," Janeway said coolly, "but now that our situations are reversed, I think it's time for some answers." She leaned against the doorway, keeping the phaser aimed on him. 

Eidolon slowly sat up, blinking as blood oozed slowly from the cut over his eye. "Or what?" He asked, the mocking tone back in his voice. "Will you shoot me, Kathryn? If you're so sure Chakotay is still in here somewhere, will you risk hurting this body?" 

Janeway did not pause. "I don't have to. All I have to do is wait for Voyager. Then my Science and Medical teams can have you. And I can assure you that they _will_ find a way to..." Her voice broke off as Eidolon's eyes went dark. Suddenly something was clawing at her mind, looking for a way in. 

Janeway's eyes widened as she realized what he was doing. He was trying to take her body, as he had taken her First Officer's. She gasped as the sensation increased, hot brands raking across her mind, seeking a threshold. 'Over my dead body,' was her last coherent thought as she crashed to her knees. She never felt the impact. Eidolon hovered just outside whatever it was that made her Kathryn Janeway, and she was damned if she was going to let him in. She threw herself wholeheartedly into the battle... 

* * * 

When his eyes had opened, Chakotay's first reaction had been astonishment that they were still alive. After the Captain's flying demonstration he had fully expected to awaken in the next world. Instead, he found himself firmly lodged in this one. His respect for her went up another notch. He hadn't known she could fly like that... 

When he had realized that his hands were tied and that she held the phaser, he had been relieved. Immensely relieved. A distant part of him smiled at the thought that, for probably the only time in his life, he was pleased to wake up bound...but the amusement quickly faded as he felt the iron fetters around his mind weaken. 

Instantly he threw himself at them, struggling to hurl the invader from his mind. And he was winning...the chains were melting away like snow in the spring. He could almost reach out and take control of his body again... And then he saw the Captain... She was on her knees, pain on her face...Eidolon was trying to take her. No! At the speed of thought he reversed his efforts, now trying desperately to hold on to the struggling alien. 

It was like wrestling an eel. Eidolon twisted and arced, each time almost breaking the Commander's mental grip, but Chakotay hung on grimly, long past the moment when he thought he must surely let go. Finally, after a lifetime or two, he could feel the parasite begin to weaken. With one last effort he dragged Eidolon backward through his mind and abruptly found himself once more in his now-familiar prison. Ignoring this, his thoughts turned instantly to the Captain. _Kathryn?_

* * * 

It hurt. Hurt as if the memory of every pain she had ever experienced had been ripped from her mind, then been doubled, tripled, and doubled again. There was no defence, no way to retreat...Janeway had felt her mental shields beginning to crumble. And then...something...had happened. It was as if Eidolon had been pulled backward at the very moment of triumph... 'Chakotay,' she wondered raggedly. 'Was that you?' Whatever it was, she had no illusions that she had managed to fend off the alien by the sheer force of her mind alone. He was too powerful...much too powerful. 

She blinked tiredly, realizing that she was on her knees, swaying slightly...and that Chakotay's body was gathering itself to rise. Fog swirled through the corners of her mind but one thought rose to the surface like an arrow. The phaser. With leaden arms she managed to raise the weapon in both hands, noting idly that they were shaking badly, then spoke. 

"Stop right there." Her voice sounded odd to her ears. Eidolon stopped. Janeway was distantly surprised that he obeyed her. Well, that was good, because she still wasn't certain she _could_ shoot him. Not in that body, at any rate. With an effort she dragged her mind back to the present. 'Get up,' she thought to herself. 'You look ridiculous on your knees.' The sheer idiocy of this remark helped clear some of the cobwebs from her mind and, using the bulkhead, she climbed slowly to her feet, keeping the phaser carefully aimed on her companion. 

* * * 

Chakotay watched her rise and felt relief sweep over him, followed closely by concern. She looked as if a strong wind would blow her over. But some inner core of resiliency kept her going. His admiration increased. 

* * * 

Janeway felt a little of her strength begin to return and she straightened her shoulders, ignoring the headache that was threatening to blind her. 'OK, Captain,' she told herself, 'First things first...' Her hands had stopped shaking and she now held the phaser with some degree of certainty. "Back off and sit down." She said out loud, indicating the co-pilot's seat. 

Eidolon obeyed and stared at her tiredly. "Now what?" he echoed her earlier words back to her. 

"Now we wait for Voyager while you give me some answers." 

Eidolon shook his head. "It won't do any good. It'll take a week to repair the ship. You're on your own, Kathryn." He paused, but she remained silent. "How long do you think you can fight me off? I'll just keep trying to take your mind until you grow too weak to fight me. And then I'll be free. And you'll be dead." 

Janeway lowered herself into the passenger seat, carefully keeping her distance from the alien. He was right. She couldn't stay alert for an entire week... Still... "If you try that again, I'll shoot you." 

Eidolon gave her a weary smile. (That's Chakotay's smile, damn it. Stop that.) "I thought we'd already covered this," he said easily. "You can't kill this body in case Chakotay is still alive. So any threats you make aren't terribly effective. Why don't you just let me go?" 

Janeway sent him a measuring look. "I don't have to kill you..." 

He gave a short bark of laughter. "So, you'll...what? Shoot me in the leg, maybe? I don't think so. You don't have the nerve, Kathryn." 

That did it. In an instant, adrenaline was sweeping over her, banishing the fatigue and pain and, for one glorious moment, she gave her temper free rein. With one hand she hauled him to his feet, shoving him back against the bulkhead. "Let's get something straight, shall we?" she spoke in a quietly chilling voice. "I will do whatever it takes to get my First Officer back, and if that involves shooting _him_ in the leg in order to make _you_ obey me, then that's what I will do. Furthermore, if you try that little mind trick again, I _will_ shoot you. Guaranteed. And one more thing...stop calling me Kathryn." She punctuated this with a final shove, released him, then stepped back and watched him through narrowed eyes. "Now...do we understand each other?" 

Eidolon met her gaze for a long moment, hesitated, then glanced away uneasily. "Yes. Captain." 

"Good." Janeway picked up the tricorder, moving the phaser to her left hand. She shook it and the readings stabilized. "This indicates that there's a power source about a day's travel away," she said, calmly now. "What is it?" 

Eidolon hesitated, then replied. "I don't know." 

"Wrong answer. Try again." 

"I don't know. Really. This planet has...changed." 

"In what way?" 

Eidolon shifted his weight. "It used to be greener. Less... deserted. I...think I've been away longer than I thought." 

The shuttle's sensors didn't pick up any signs of higher lifeforms." 

"My people don't always show up on _sensors_." 

"Your people?" 

He looked away and did not answer. Janeway gave him a minute, then levelled the phaser at him. "Right leg or left?" 

He returned his gaze. "What?" 

"Which leg?" The phaser was aimed unwaveringly at his right kneecap. 

Eidolon swallowed. Their gazes clashed for a long moment, then his eyelids flickered. "Neither," he said. 

Janeway allowed herself a cold smile. "Good. Let's start again, shall we?" She leaned one hip against the chair. "Why exactly did you bring us here? Be precise." 

Eidolon sank back into the co-pilot's chair and sighed. "I was looking for some trace of my people." 

She cast him a dangerous look as he stopped, and he continued hastily. "We are...I suppose you would call us 'wraiths'. We live by entering another body...a corporeal form...and sharing our existence with that person." 

"Sharing...?" 

Eidolon's poise was slowly returning. "Don't sound so hopeful, Kath...Captain. I do not subscribe to my people's beliefs of peaceful coexistence. I do not 'share'. Ever. This body is mine." 

"Wrong. It doesn't belong to you. And the rightful owner is going to get it back." 

"And how do you propose to do that?" he asked. The assurance was back in his voice. 

Janeway didn't answer. She glanced again at the wavering tricorder display. There was definitely some sort of power source out there but she couldn't get a good enough reading for any detail. Still, it was beginning to look like her only option. She couldn't stay here in the shuttle with him, and she couldn't risk waiting for Voyager to arrive. With a snap she put the tricorder away and stood, balancing herself against the tilt of the deck. 

He cocked his head to one side. "Well, Captain? You didn't answer my question. How do you plan to return this body to the dear, departed Commander Chakotay?" 

"By any means necessary. Now get up." 

He did not move. "Why?" 

She gave him a cold smile. "Because we're going to do what you came here for. We're going to go find your people." 

END OF PART 3 


	4. Chapter 4

**THE WRAITHS TRILOGY:**   
**EIDOLON**   
by Avalon (avalon99@telusplanet.net)   
http://members.dencity.com/avalon_online   
J/C, PG-13, 4/7   


* * *

EIDOLON IV 

  


The air was warm and dry, with a faint hint of something that smelled like sage on the breeze. Janeway stood just outside the downed shuttle, staring gloomily at the landscape. Beyond the rock pillars and boulders where the ship lay was a flat, rocky expanse of desert. Small plants grew here and there in rock crevices and only the occasional stunted tree broke the horizon. 

Janeway looked down at the tricorder in her hand then thumped it on the side. It gave an alarming screech but the data stabilized long enough for her to take a reading. There. To the west. About 25 kilometres... It was definitely some sort of power source. She hit the tricorder again, but it stubbornly failed to give her any more information. 

"Captain." Janeway stiffened at the sound of his voice and turned to look at the man beside her. 

"What?" 

He tilted his head a little. "I can't see." 

Janeway's jaw tightened. The cut on his forehead had almost closed, but a thin trickle of blood still ran into his eyes. Eidolon gave her a mocking smile. 

"Would you mind?"   
  
With a muffled curse, she reached up with one sleeve and roughly swiped the blood from his eyes. The smile grew wider. "Lovely bedside manner you have, Captain. Have you ever considered a career in medicine?" 

She suppressed a growl and turned her attention back to the tricorder. 

"I was planning on killing you, you know," he said conversationally. 

"Yes, I know," Janeway muttered as she tried to fine-tune the device while juggling the phaser in her other hand. "Why else do you think I crashed the shuttle?" 

"I thought perhaps insanity was prevalent in human females." 

Janeway sighed, tucked the tricorder back into her belt, and tucked her hair behind her ears. "Only this one. Now get moving." 

"As you wish." With a mocking grin, the man in Chakotay's body turned away from the shuttle and began to pick his way carefully over the rocky ground. Janeway watched him for a long moment then sighed again, shifted the phaser to her right hand, and set out after him. 

* * * 

Chakotay felt an involuntary surge of satisfaction when he realized how difficult Eidolon was finding it to maneuver over the uneven terrain with his hands tied. The alien, or rather _his_ body hadn't escaped the shuttle's crash unscathed. Eidolon walked stiffly, turning his head as little as possible, and his vision kept blurring at regular intervals. Concussion, probably. Good. That should help Kathryn. Another shaft of irony struck him. It wasn't often that one was pleased at the idea of having concussion... 

Kathryn. He managed to get another look at her as she crossed Eidolon's line of vision. The crash had obviously done some damage to her too. She was limping slightly, a limp that increased with every step, and it looked as though her side was hurting. Then again, there was also a stubborn glint in her eyes that he recognized. Chakotay suspected that she could outlast him _and_ make it to the power source and back, if necessary. It seemed there was very little his Captain could not do. 

* * * 

Janeway called a halt several hours later when they reached a stone well with a bucket on a frayed rope. The well was old and crumbling, but, when she dropped the bucket into its depths, there was a reassuring splash. With one eye on Eidolon, she tucked the phaser into the front of her belt and carefully pulled up a pitcherful of water. She gave it a hesitant sniff then withdrew the tricorder. When it didn't respond she gave it another whack on the side. It didn't even whimper this time. The Captain clenched her teeth against the curses she was tempted to emit, and returned it to her belt. Then she took a small sip. 

"Well?" Eidolon's voice was impatient. 

Janeway frowned. "It seems all right." 

"I'm surprised you didn't make me try it first." She looked up at him. "After all, you've already threatened to shoot me. What's a little poison between friends?" 

"Shut up." She took another swallow of water. 

"Certainly. After you give me some water." 

Janeway sighed. "No tricks," she said, taking a step forward. 

"Of course not. But this would be easier if you released my hands." 

A wry smile curled at her lips. "Do I _look_ that stupid or are you just a poor judge of character?" 

The alien didn't answer but leaned forward as Janeway awkwardly tilted the bucket so he could drink. Then he watched her replace it and lean against the well, the phaser aimed unwaveringly at him. 

"I want you to tell me everything about...ouch." She broke off suddenly and snatched her hand away from the stones. A small red insect scuttled back into the shadows. Janeway started then looked at her right hand. Four tiny marks marred the skin near her wrist. She looked up at Eidolon, alarm in her eyes. "What was that?" 

"What colour was it?" 

"Red." 

"Was there a white stripe on its back?" he asked. 

Janeway hesitated. "Yes. I think so." She frowned as Eidolon burst into laughter. "What?" 

"Oh nothing." With an effort he suppressed his laughter but a wide grin remained on his face. "It's just that I was wrong. It seems that some things on this planet haven't changed after all." He chuckled again. 

Janeway rubbed the side of her hand where a red welt was already forming. "What do you mean? And do try to contain your hilarity for a moment." 

"Sorry. You probably don't find this very amusing." The grin vanished. "You've been bitten by a Gwari. They're poisonous." 

"What's the cure?" An edge was beginning to appear in Janeway's voice. 

"That's just it. There is none." 

She stared at him. "I don't believe you." 

"You should. You've got twenty, maybe twenty-five hours. No more. And then you're going to die. Very slowly. In agony." 

"That's enough." 

He ignored her. "I've seen it happen before. First the dizziness, fever, and nausea, then pain like nothing you've ever experienced...or imagined. Your respiratory and cardiovascular systems will fail and..." 

"I said that's enough! There must be a cure." She withdrew the tricorder. Nothing happened. Janeway struggled futilely with it. 

Eidolon smiled widely. "I must admit I appreciate the irony. Don't you, Captain? Almost makes one believe in Fate." Janeway ignored him. "In a few hours you'll be dead and I'll be free. So much for your plan to somehow restore Chakotay to his body..." 

With a muffled curse Janeway spun and sent the tricorder winging across the desert. It hit the rocks with a clatter and she turned back to her prisoner, a dangerous expression on her face. 

"Right. Let's get going." 

"Excuse me? Didn't you hear anything I just said." 

"Yes, and I said get going." 

Eidolon stared at her, perplexed. "Why?" 

"Because I obviously have less time than I thought to find your people and get you out of Commander Chakotay's body." 

Eidolon did not move. "You would be wiser to go back to your shuttle and wait for rescue. Maybe your people will be able to find a cure. Let me go and I won't interfere." 

Janeway shook her head. "No. Besides, you said the repairs to Voyager would take at least a week." 

"Maybe I lied." 

"Maybe you did. But I'm not going to take that chance. Move." She gestured again with the phaser. 

Eidolon frowned, shook his head, wincing at the motion, then turned and trudged away, deeper into the desert. Janeway glanced down at the welt on her hand then squared her shoulders and marched determinedly after him. 

* * * 

Dying. She was dying. Chakotay's thoughts whirled inside his prison. No. He had to do something, find a way...He couldn't let Kathryn die... 

* * * 

The climate was harsher than Janeway had expected. As the distant orange sun rose higher, the heat became pervasive and the water from the well a distant memory. Or perhaps the first symptoms of the insect bite were already making themselves known. She brushed the back of her hand across her forehead then shivered. Despite the heat, a chill crept over her. Definitely fever. Damn. She had hoped that the alien had been lying. 

She hoped that he was lying about a great deal. If Chakotay really were dead...for the first time she allowed herself to think of the implications. What would Voyager do without him? He had managed to fuse the two crews together; she had no illusions that it had been due to her own meagre efforts. No, Chakotay had decided that the Maquis and Starfleet crews needed to work together and had somehow convinced everyone else. And she still wasn't sure how he had done it. If he were truly gone...how would the crew handle it?...How would _she_ handle it?... 'No.' Resolutely she turned her mind away from the dark thoughts. He was alive and she was going to get that damned alien out of his mind, or perish in the attempt. Of course, given her current state of being, that wasn't beyond the realms of possibility. 

Some deep part of her questioned the wisdom of pursuing this course of action. Maybe Eidolon was right. It might be wiser to wait in the shuttle. But if she did...he would take her body. It was only a matter of time. True, she was no safer out here with him than in the shuttle but at least this gave her the illusion of accomplishment. She couldn't just sit and wait...and hope. As for letting him go...that wasn't an option. Janeway sighed. For a moment she wished she could turn to someone for advice...but she was holding a phaser on the only person she could ask... No, this was the only way. Janeway ignored the doubts running through her and rubbed her hand again, which had begun to itch annoyingly. 

* * * 

The last rays of the sun were disappearing when Janeway called a halt beside a tattered tree. She estimated they had travelled perhaps two thirds of the distance toward the energy source. Eidolon stopped and sank to the ground near a large rock. It was evident that the effects of his concussion were worsening. Of course, she wasn't in much better shape, she realized. As the shadows had lengthened, she had found her vision tending to blur if she moved her head too quickly. Bouts of shivering racked her limbs and her stomach churned in rebellion. She hadn't felt like this since the eve of her graduation when she and her friends had ended up in a pub in Kildare... 

Janeway took a couple of deep, steadying breaths...and almost lost her lunch. Okay. 'Deep breaths are not the way to go...' she tried a few shallow breaths. Better. The churning in her stomach subsided slightly. She looked over at Eidolon, who was gazing at her, a faint smile hovering on the edge of his lips. 

"It's started, hasn't it?" he said. "Dizziness, nausea, just as I said." 

Janeway didn't answer. Instead, she turned to gather some small rocks, setting them close together. Trying to still the trembling in her hands, she aimed the phaser and sent a burst of pure energy into their molecular structure. A warm, comforting glow lit the night. Only then did she allow herself to sink to the ground. 

"Are you going to untie me?" There was a note of fatigue in his voice that hadn't been there before. 

"No." Janeway curled her knees up and folded her arms around them, trying to conserve body heat. The temperature was plummeting rapidly as distant stars emerged. 

"My hands have gone numb." 

"Chakotay's hands have gone numb." 

"Fine," he agreed impatiently. "Chakotay's hands have gone numb. Can you at least loosen the ropes a little?" 

"Sorry." 

Eidolon scowled and fell silent. Briefly. "Is there any water?" 

"No." 

"I'm thirsty." 

"Get used to disappointment." 

"That's not very polite." 

Janeway met his gaze in disbelief. "You've stolen my First Officer's body, kidnapped me, and revelled in the knowledge that I'm going to die in...let's see...about 12 hours, and you want me to be polite? And you think _I'm_ insane?" Her voice rose. 

"Just trying to make conversation," he replied defensively. 

"Well, don't. The only things I want to hear from you are the nature of the power source we're heading for, how to cure this damned insect bite, and how to restore Commander Chakotay. Other than that...shut up." 

Eidolon cast her a hurt look but said nothing. In the distance a wild animal cried and Janeway shivered slightly. Twin moons rose slowly above the horizon, casting faint blue shadows over the terrain. 

"Captain." 

Janeway sighed. "What?" 

"Why are you doing this?" There was honest curiosity in his voice. 

"Doing what?" 

"All of this. Gambling your life on the remote possibility that this power source will somehow restore Chakotay, or that you'll be able to find my people. Believe me, if they don't want to be found, they won't." 

Janeway looked across at him, at Chakotay's familiar features lit by the glow from the rocks. "How did _you_ expect to find them, then? And why?" 

He looked away. "I have my ways," he said evasively, "and my motives are my own." 

The Captain's eyes narrowed. "You know what this power source is, don't you?" When he made no reply, she continued, almost to herself. "You haven't complained about this. You want to go there, don't you?" It was half-guess, half-certainty. 

"How can I prevent it? My...excuse me...Chakotay's... hands are tied, I have a concussion, and you hold the only weapon. I'm no more eager than you are to die, Kathryn." 

"Don't call me that," she said absently. 

"All right. Captain." He coughed, then winced. Janeway's eyes flickered to his face, but she did not move. "If you're so sure that I want to reach this power source," he continued, "then why don't you stop me? End this journey now..." 

Janeway debated not answering but finally decided to keep talking. At least it kept her mind off her body's increasing debility. "I don't have a choice. As you so diplomatically put it, if I don't find a cure soon, I'll be dead and you'll have Chakotay's body. I can't let that happen." 

"Which brings me to my original question. Why are you doing this?" 

Janeway looked away, staring out into the darkness. "He's a friend. And a crewmember." 

"And you'd do as much for any crewmember..." he said mockingly. 

"Yes." 

"Liar. He meant something to you, didn't he?" 

She whirled back to face him, anger throbbing in her voice. "Stop talking about him in the past tense." 

Eidolon ignored her. "He did. You cared for him." He laughed, then coughed again. "Another of life's little ironies, eh, Captain?" 

Her momentary surge of fury ebbed quickly and she re-focused her efforts on quelling the nausea within her. "Why don't you go to sleep? We have a long way to go tomorrow." She leaned back against the tree. 

"Aren't you afraid I'll somehow free myself and kill you? Or do you think you can stay awake all night?" 

"I can stay awake as long as I have to." 

"Liar," he said again. There was another long pause in the conversation. "Tell me about him." 

Janeway startled slightly. "Why?" 

"I don't know. Something to pass the time. Besides, I'm curious." 

"What about?" she asked warily. 

"Why you would take a man who was your enemy to be your second in command. Why you would trust a Maquis..." 

"What do you know about the Maquis?" 

Eidolon smiled. "Considerably more than you do, given that I accessed most of his memories before he died." Janeway winced but said nothing. "For example, do you know where the name 'Maquis' originally came from?" 

"As a matter of fact I do. It was the name of the French resistance during World War II on Earth." 

"Bravo, Captain. And did you find that out before or after you met Chakotay?" 

"What does it matter?" Janeway shifted again, trying to ignore the fact that she could see three of him at the moment and that the stars were spinning above her. Her stomach muscles clenched. 'I will not throw up. I will _not_...' "Why do you care?" 

"I told you -- something to pass the time." 

Janeway squinted slightly and the three images coalesced into one. 'Keep talking, Kathryn. Don't think about it...' "All right," she said, "My turn. Why haven't you tried to take over my body again?" 

Eidolon's smile widened, and another surge of unreality swept over her. Chakotay smiled like that... 'Do not do this to yourself,' she thought fiercely. 'Do not let him get to you...' 

He was speaking, she realized. She forced herself to listen. "Don't think I haven't thought about it," he said, "but at the moment I'm having too much fun watching you try to 'accomplish your mission'. Besides, numb hands notwithstanding, I'd much rather be in this body than yours, Captain. You don't look at all well." He managed to inject a cloying note of concern into his voice. 

Janeway took another shallow breath. "I'm fine." 

"Really? Then if I were to mention how much I'd like some fresh Aldebarian poached eggs right now, with an enormous plate of bacon and..." Eidolon broke off as she abruptly scrambled away out of the circle of light. There was a pause and then the sound of retching could be heard. He leaned back against his rock and laughed softly in the darkness. 

END OF PART FOUR 


	5. Chapter 5

**THE WRAITHS TRILOGY:**   
**EIDOLON**   
by Avalon (avalon99@telusplanet.net)   
http://members.dencity.com/avalon_online   
J/C, PG-13, 5/7   


* * *

EIDOLON V 

  


Janeway woke with a start. For a moment, a wave of disorientation swept over her, then her vision cleared and memory returned. Eidolon...the shuttle...that damned insect. Chakotay! She looked hastily at her prisoner. 

He froze in the act of rising, his startled gaze meeting hers. He was still bound, she noted thankfully. Janeway hastily raised the phaser, ignoring the jolt of pain that ran up her arm. 

"Where do you think you're going?" 

"Not dead yet?" he asked sardonically. Janeway clenched her jaw and didn't answer. Eidolon continued. "Well, come on, Captain. Time is passing. Don't you want to reach that power source today?" The taunting note in his voice increased with every word. 

The Captain ignored him. She was too busy trying to deal with the pain sweeping over her. It hurt. Everything hurt, right down to her eyelashes. Yesterday she had thought nothing could hurt as much as Eidolon's attempt to take over her mind; today she wasn't so sure... And to make matters worse, she was still nauseous.   
  
'Sitting here isn't going to help,' she told herself firmly. Ignoring the fact that all she really wanted to do was lie down and whimper, she reached back with her free hand and, using the tree behind her, slowly climbed to her feet. It took a good deal longer than it should have -- all her muscles seemed to have mutinied and the pain increased with every movement. Finally though, she was standing, albeit leaning heavily against the tree. She looked across the clearing at Eidolon. 

* * * 

She looked like death warmed over. When Eidolon had first opened his eyes in the early dawn light, Chakotay had felt a sharp burst of dread go through him. She was so still, lying propped up against that gnarled tree, her skin the colour of old ashes...But then her eyes had opened. The relief that had poured over Chakotay had left him weak and shaking in its wake. She was alive. For now. But unless he did something soon, she wouldn't stay that way. 'Think, man,' he told himself. 'She needs you.' 

Once more his thoughts returned to the moment when Eidolon had flung him aside and usurped his body. The trance. That had to be the key... With an effort, Chakotay put his fear and concern for the Captain out of his mind, and focused on the trance. And freedom... 

* * * 

It was a little better, now that she was standing, Janeway found. The pain seemed to ebb to a manageable level, and, if she took quick, shallow breaths, the roiling of her stomach subsided. Somewhat. She refocused her gaze on Eidolon, trying to ignore the starbursts of pain exploding in her temples. 

He was smiling again -- a cold smile she had never...ever...seen on Chakotay's face. And his expression... He was just waiting for her to fall over and die, she realized. 'Well, I'm not going to give him that satisfaction,' she thought grimly. 'I'm a Starfleet Captain. Surrender is not an option' With an effort she straightened her shoulders and stepped away from the tree. It felt like someone had tied lead weights to her ankles, but she was standing. And moving. So far so good. She spoke, somewhat surprised that her voice sounded sure and firm. Pity about the rest of her... 

"Let's go." 

Eidolon's eyebrows climbed and a fleeting expression of surprise crossed his face. "I must admit I didn't expect you to say that, Captain," he said. 

She ignored his conversational gambit. "Move. You can annoy me while you're walking." 

He bowed slightly. "Of course. I'm always willing to humour a dying woman..." He turned and strode at a rapid pace into the desert, listening to her struggle to keep up behind him. It wouldn't be long now... 

* * * 

Standing might have been better, but walking was infinitely worse. Janeway was certain tha every step was going to be her last but she forced herself to keep moving just the same. 'I will not give in.' It became a chant, that she recited over and over. 'I will _not_ give in...' Ahead, a distant chain of hills began grew larger. Janeway concentrated on them, ignoring the increasing weakness in her limbs as the sun beat down upon her. Eventually, Eidolon slowed and glanced over his shoulder. 

"Why don't you just give up?" 

"No." She couldn't spare the breath for a longer reply. 

Eidolon frowned. "What is it about you humans? Why won't you accept your limitations? The reality of your situation?" 

Janeway kept walking. "Because that's what we do," she said slowly. We see what _can be_, not what _is_, then we do whatever it takes to change it. I don't expect you to understand." 

Eidolon resumed his pace. After several moments he broke the silence. "That's really quite admirable." 

"Thanks. I'm glad we meet your approval." She couldn't quite produce her usual level of sarcasm but she was fairly proud of the effort, given the circumstances. 

"I think we could have been friends under other conditions," he said. 

Janeway shot him an astonished look. "Friends." She snorted, then fell silent. 

"I don't see why not. We're really quite similar. We both refuse to accept the status quo. And we're not afraid to do whatever it takes to get what we want." 

Janeway stopped and turned to face him. "Let's get something straight." Her voice was stronger now. "We are _nothing_ alike. You take what you want at the expense of other lifeforms. Their suffering means nothing to you. You are a selfish, self-absorbed parasite who wouldn't even begin to understand concepts like friendship, or self-sacrifice, or love. You have more in common with a leech than humanity." Righteous indignation was doing wonders for her condition; Janeway was feeling much better... 

"I think I could change your mind. Especially in _this_ body." 

Righteous indignation turned to incredulity. "What?" she asked dangerously. 

"I could make you forget all about Commander Chakotay," He took a step closer, gazing intensely into her eyes. "You need a friend, Kathryn. Someone to talk to, to help you. I could be that friend...if you would let me." He took another step. 

Janeway's mouth had dropped open but she closed it with a snap. Her hand tightened around the phaser. "Back off. Right now." Eidolon stopped. "I'd probably be laughing right now, if you weren't so pathetic. You have absolutely no notion of what it is to be human, do you? A set of stolen memories and some second-hand emotions, and you think you're an expert. It doesn't work that way." She punctuated her words with a wave of the weapon. "Chakotay is my First Officer and my friend. Nothing will ever change that. And I'm going to find a way to return his body to him, if it's the last thing I do. Understand?" 

"It might." 

"What?" 

"It might be the last thing you ever do." 

Janeway regarded him for a long moment then turned away. "I know," she said tiredly, almost to herself. Then she straightened and flicked her hair back. "Keep going," she said firmly. Eidolon paused then looked away and resumed his pace. Once more they strode across the desert. 

* * * 

They had reached the shadow of the hills by late morning and had entered a narrow gorge that ran through the russet-coloured rocks by noon. Behind them, the air shimmered in the sun, while overhead a bird wheeled in the cloudless sky.   
  
The shade helped a little she found, but Janeway was almost past caring. Her vision kept blurring at regular intervals and the pain was beyond measure. It was becoming difficult to breathe. But somehow she kept going. 

Together Janeway and Eidolon rounded a corner...and stopped dead. Ahead lay an impossibly deep gorge. Janeway took one horrified look over the edge then promptly backed up several paces, halting only when her back met the rock wall behind her. Her heart pounded uncomfortably and the sudden burst of adrenaline that shot through her left her trembling in its wake. 

Eidolon peered over the side for a long moment, while the Captain's stomach churned with more than nausea, then turned back to her, his shoulders unconsciously tensing against the ropes that bound him. "Well?" The word hung between them. 

Janeway swallowed and tried to regain control of her nerves. The trouble was, she felt as if she had just run a marathon. Waves of pure, unadulterated terror swept over her, leaving her weak and shuddering and she was caught between frozen horror and the desire to bolt back the way she'd come...and to hell with everything else... 

Eidolon watched her with unalloyed interest. "Afraid of heights, are we?" he asked. 

Janeway looked away. It was true. She had always feared heights, ever since she was a child...but she wasn't about to tell him that. Firmly she met his gaze. "No. Not at all." 

His mouth quirked in a half-smile, and he leaned precariously over the edge to look down. Janeway's stomach lurched. "That's good," he said, "because it's a very, very long way down. One could fall forever..." 

Janeway hastily looked away, her fingers digging into the cliffside behind her. A small fragment of rock came away in one hand. She stared down at it blindly and concentrated on breathing. Breathing always helped. Over the years she had found that she could contain the fear, given enough warning. It was only that first sickening jolt of terror that she had never quite managed to control. 'Breathe, Kathryn,' she thought raggedly, 'don't think about it...' 

It worked. Slowly. After an eternity, she managed to move away from the cliff at her back. Carefully not looking at the chasm before her, her gaze fell on a narrow rock bridge, a little way to the right. She paled even further. It was narrow and crumbling. Years, perhaps decades of erosion had weakened it to the point of collapse. Janeway swallowed. They couldn't cross _that_. _She_ couldn't. 

* * * 

He was close. Very close. As Chakotay sank deeper into a trance, sound and light began to recede. 'At last...' A brief flash of fear went through him, momentarily distracting him. What if he could not find the way back...? He banished it immediately and refocused his efforts. His thoughts went one last time to Kathryn before he put her reluctantly from his mind and plunged even deeper into the darkness... 

* * * __

_Kathryn._

'Chakotay?' Janeway started, and dragged her gaze away from the yawning chasm to the man beside her. No. It was still Eidolon. But she had heard him. Chakotay. Janeway swallowed and gave herself an inward shake, wondering if the next stage of this disease involved hallucinations. 

This wasn't doing any good. Hallucinations or not, they had to reach the power source...and soon. She didn't think she could last much longer... They had to cross the gorge. What was one little phobia compared with her life and Chakotay's? Janeway squared her shoulders and took another cautious step forward. So far so good. She turned back to the alien. 

"You're not thinking of crossing that, are you?" he forestalled her. "Have you _looked_ at it? That's not a bridge...it's primitive art!" 

She said nothing, merely looked at him, the phaser in her hand. 

He sighed. "I know, I know. 'Get going.' This is becoming very monotonous, Kathryn." 

"You first." 

Eidolon cast the bridge a dubious glance, then reluctantly turned and took a cautious step onto its surface. It held. Just. A small avalanche of fragments fell from the sides into the endless void, but it held. Eidolon squared his shoulders and moved lightly forward. 

Janeway allowed herself one more moment of sheer panic then bit her lip, took a deep breath that blurred her vision and made the ground lurch crazily, and followed him, her spirit quailing within her. 

* * * 

She was doing surprisingly well. By staring intently at the back of the red uniform before her, Janeway could almost forget that she was crossing a crumbling deathtrap suspended several kilometres above a sea of rocks, and that even the slightest slip would send her plummeting over the side. Almost. And then the man in the red uniform skidded a little, one foot sliding toward the edge. Janeway's breath caught in her throat and she froze. The wraith wavered for a moment, unable to use his arms to regain his balance...and then pulled himself back from the brink by sheer force of will. He paused for a moment, recovered his footing, then resumed a steady pace. A few more seconds and he had reached the other side, and safety. 

All right. He was over. 'Your turn, Kathryn,' she told herself. Nothing happened. Her limbs refused to obey her. She tried again. Still nothing. Janeway stood paralysed in the middle of the rock bridge, her mouth dry, adrenaline flooding through her body. Time stilled. A dry wind played with the edges of her hair while overhead a bird began to circle. 

* * * 

Eidolon breathed a sigh of relief as he reached the far side then turned back to watch her progress...or lack thereof. She was only halfway across and not moving a muscle, an expression of pure terror on her face. A smile crossed his lips. 

* * * 

Janeway was talking to herself. She had worked her way up from logical arguments to pleas and threats. It didn't help. Her legs still felt as if they were rooted into the rock and her eyes kept straying to the fathomless drop below her. 'That is not being very helpful, Kathryn,' she told herself as she resolutely dragged them away. 'Move, damn it! Nobody is going to come and rescue you. You have to do this yourself...' She focused on the other side -- in time to see Eidolon vanishing around a corner. A few choice curses flooded through her mind. 

Perhaps it was the anger but suddenly she found she could move. A little. If she didn't look down...didn't breathe...didn't... She took a careful step forward, and then another. She was doing it. Slowly, tremblingly, she crossed the final few paces and reached solid ground. Behind her, the bridge groaned alarmingly. As more shards fell, she collapsed against the cliff wall, trying to still the shaking in her limbs...and the pain that was returning now that the adrenaline saturating her system was fading. For a long moment she leaned against the rocks, eyes closed, unwilling and unable to move. 

* * * 

She never heard him. Suddenly without warning, he was on her. Eidolon burst out of the shadows, the frayed and broken edges of the cable still wrapped around his wrists. Janeway jerked upright, but not in time. In one flying movement he had tackled her, knocking her to the ground. The phaser skittered away out of her grasp and came to rest precariously near the chasm's edge. Janeway gasped as Eidolon's elbow connected with her sore ribs and then her Starfleet training...and something else...took over. Suddenly she didn't care that she was ill, in pain, unarmed, and definitely outweighed. She had had enough of this. Enough of Eidolon's taunts, enough playing the role of victim in all this, enough allowing this _usurper_ to use Chakotay's body against her. Her knee came up, hard, even as she doubled both fists together and caught him solidly against the jaw. Eidolon rocked back from the twin blows then redoubled his assault. He reached for her throat with one hand only to find he held a hissing wildcat. Janeway launched another punch while simultaneously finding the leverage to kick him in the kneecap. Together they rolled closer to the edge of the ravine... 

Eidolon rolled on top of her and reached once more for her throat with both hands. As his grasp tightened, Janeway bucked futilely beneath him. No good. She could get no leverage, and he was ignoring the blows she rained on him. Exhaustion and illness dragged at her but something kept her fighting on...even as her vision began to darken... 

* * * 

Chakotay had reached the centre. His centre. The darkness around him was replaced by swirling lights and images. Thoughts and memories assailed him. A feather-light touch of...something...grazed his mind, beckoning... 

Suddenly a sense of urgency clawed at him. Kathryn. She needed him. He had to hurry. Without hesitating, he flung himself into the river of streaming lights. 

And then he could see again, through his own eyes. Could see Kathryn struggling, weakly now, as Eidolon choked the life from her...and he knew. Knew how to get this parasite out of his mind. With a silent echo of a war cry that had not been used in generations, Chakotay flung himself into battle. 

* * * 

Janeway's thoughts were blurring. The world was growing more distant, the reasons to keep fighting more obscured. It would be so easy to let go, to rest... And then something brushed her mind...and the shadows were gone. She could see again. Better than that, she could breathe again. 

She dragged a painful, dust-laden breathe of air into her starved lungs, and was immediately seized by a fit of coughing. Now she was sure she was going to die. Some driving sense of urgency though, made her ignore her tearing eyes and the pain in her chest, and lift her gaze. 

Eidolon still held her by the throat, but lightly now. Janeway blinked again and focused on his face. It was contorted, as if with pain, and his breath came in great gasps. 'Chakotay!' The thought flared through her. 'He wasn't dead. Somehow, he was buying her time. She wasn't fighting alone... 

Relief ran through her and with it her energy returned. Thought became motion. Twisting like an eel beneath him, Janeway broke his grip on her throat and reached for the fist-sized rock just to her left. Her scrambling fingers pulled it closer, even as the brief glimpse of Chakotay in the face above her began to fade... No! But he was gone again. Only the alien remained...and he was reaching for her again... 

With the last of her strength, Janeway hit him hard across the head. There was a sickening thud as the rock connected with his temple and he sagged momentarily, his weight pinning her to the ground. She twisted again, reaching for the phaser lying close by. 

There. She had it. Immediately she rolled onto her back, ignoring the complaints from her side and leg, and aimed upward at the man half kneeling across her legs. Eidolon froze, his gaze caught by the weapon. Another cut on the side of his head had joined the first one, and blood ran freely, soaking his hair. For a long moment neither moved, then: 

"Get off." It was no more than a whisper, but it was the best that Janeway could do. 

He wasn't going to obey her this time. She could see it, reflected in his eyes. He was going to take his chances... Janeway's finger tightened around the trigger. 

"You won't shoot." His voice was hoarse, his breathing laboured. "Think of Chakotay." 

"I am," she whispered, "and I know he'll forgive me." And then she pulled the trigger... 

END OF PART 5 


	6. Chapter 6

**THE WRAITHS TRILOGY:**   
**EIDOLON**   
by Avalon (avalon99@telusplanet.net)   
http://members.dencity.com/avalon_online   
J/C, PG-13, 6/7   


* * *

EIDOLON VI 

  


The phaser bolt caught him high on the left shoulder and Eidolon was flung backward, freeing Janeway. Dizzily, fighting to keep the phaser aimed on him, she dragged herself to her knees, leaning heavily on one hand, watching him through clouded eyes. 

Guilt engulfed her. She had shot him. She had just shot Chakotay. But it wasn't Chakotay, she reminded herself once again. Trouble was, this time the arguments didn't work. It was Chakotay's body, and she had just had proof that he was still in there...somewhere. And she had shot him... 

Janeway gave herself an inward shake. 'Don't think about it,' she told herself. 'Deal with it later.' If there was a later. It was taking all of her strength just to hold the phaser. As for getting the rest of the way up...her spirit quailed at the thought. And she couldn't seem to draw enough oxygen into her starved lungs. The world spun hazily. 

Eidolon rolled over, clutching his shoulder with his right hand. Agony contorted his...Chakotay's... features, and the sickening stench of burned flesh wafted toward Janeway. Her stomach lurched once more, but fortunately there was nothing left in it to make a hasty reappearance. Nevertheless, she fought down the urge to retch. The way she felt right now, that would probably kill her. Of course, just sitting here could do the same... 

Finally, Janeway gathered what little remained of her fortitude and attempted to stand. And failed. Try as she might, she couldn't seem to get to her feet. She just... couldn't. Gasping for air, she sank back to the ground. Slowly, reluctantly, her eyes began to flicker shut. 

* * * 

Chakotay returned to consciousness. As the darkness receded he recognized his surroundings. His prison. The part of his mind that Eidolon had banished him to. He was back. Damn. Damn, damn, damn! More curses sizzled through him as he tested the bonds that held him. The mental chains were still there, weaker now, but still too powerful. Frustration swept over him. He had thrown everything he had at the alien, had used all of his reserves. Nothing remained. He had failed her. She was going to die. _I'm sorry, Kathryn,_ he told her silently. _Forgive me..._

* * * 

Something made her open her eyes. Some part of her that refused to accept defeat as an option, that kept her fighting on when everything in her cried out to stop... Whatever it was, Janeway's eyes flickered open. She blinked and the grey fog obscuring her vision receded slightly. Eidolon still lay clutching his shoulder, conscious but unwilling or unable to move. His gaze met hers, the pain in them reflected by her own. Janeway looked away. Something ahead caught her eye. A flash of light. Janeway blinked again, not trusting her vision. But no. It was still there...a bright flare when she moved her head slightly, coming from the rocks just ahead. She squinted, trying to ignore the pounding in her head, the pain in her throat, and her desperate attempts to draw air into her labouring lungs. There. It was coming from an opening in the rocks... 

"A cave." She breathed the word aloud. Eidolon frowned and, with a grunt of effort, twisted himself around to follow her gaze. Relief mingled with the pain on his features. Then slowly, holding his shoulder, he rose. Janeway watched him, a faint flicker of astonishment going through her. That bolt should have knocked him out, kept him unconscious for hours, if not days, done an incredible amount of damage to his system... Instead, the alien was setting out for the cave, moving slowly but surely away from her. She frowned. Human bodies weren't built to take that much punishment. How was he...? Wait a minute. He was moving away... 

That was enough to bring her to her feet. Janeway hadn't gone through all of this just to watch this alien wander off with Chakotay's body. She wasn't sure how she did it, and she didn't really care, but somehow she found herself wavering on unsteady legs. She swallowed once, then focused on the retreating form ahead of her. Quelling the rather ridiculous urge to shout 'Hey, bring that body back at once,' she forced herself into motion. 

* * * 

Each of the hundred metres from the ravine to the cave were written in agony. Janeway had forgotten how it felt to _not_ feel pain; her world had narrowed to a level of torment beyond anything she had ever imagined. Probably beyond anything _anyone_ had ever imagined. 'Dante could have learned a lot from me,' she thought randomly, trying not to trip over the stones in her path. 'I wonder which level of Hell I've reached...' Nevertheless, she entered the cave only a half a dozen paces behind Eidolon. The alien did not pause, but plunged into the Stygian darkness. Janeway followed unhesitatingly. 

* * * 

It was like being in a starless void. After they had rounded the first corner there was no light at all. The darkness was almost palpable. Janeway slowed, trying to listen for the sound of Eidolon's footsteps, but a confusing barrage of echoes assailed her, and she quickly lost all sense of direction. Panic should have been coursing through her like water but the best she could manage was mild concern. 'Guess the human body has a finite amount of adrenaline after all...' Janeway slowed finally and came to a stop. 

And then the lights came on. Janeway nearly fell over as her pupils contracted painfully, tears forming on her lashes. Blinking hastily she managed to restore her vision...to a certain extent. The world was still swimming in several directions at once around her, but she found if she half-looked at things from the corners of her eyes, she could make out her surroundings. Just. 

She seemed to have reached her limits for surprise too. The technological masterpiece she found herself in should have had the scientist in her doing handsprings for joy. Right now, though, she wouldn't especially care if someone announced they had found a way to punch up Voyager's speed to Warp twenty, _and_ make Neelix's food edible as a side effect. Just staying on her feet was triumph enough... 

The cave was large and full of...something. Janeway found herself in the middle of what looked like the most intricate computer/communication/transportation system she had ever seen. And that was just the parts she recognized. She couldn't even begin to imagine what the rest of it did. A console bristling with technology stood in the middle of the cavern, with some sort of...energy lines...built into the cave floor, walls, and roof. Janeway peered a little closer at the one she was standing on. Pulses of power, or something else altogether, ran through it at various intervals, synchronized with the rest in ways that she couldn't even begin to fathom. On the console, tiny multicoloured lights flickered across its grey surface, like stars in a cloudless sky. Overall, the effect was as if someone had crossed the intricate inner workings of an computer with a Christmas tree. For a moment, Janeway forgot her body's debility as a wave of admiration for the builders swept over her... 

Eidolon's voice interrupted her musings. Janeway turned her head, wincing at the pain in her neck. He stood a long pace to her right. Somehow she had followed him step for step through the darkness. He was rapping out a long string of commands. Even as he spoke, the pattern of the lights began to change, becoming more synchronized, less random. Janeway tightened her jaw. Whatever he was doing, she had to stop him. Time was running out...   
  
"That's enough." For a moment, her voice sounded confident and assured. Never mind the fact that any minute she was going to fall on her face and never get up again. Eidolon glanced at her but did not stop. It took all of her remaining strength but Janeway managed to raise the phaser one last time. A fleeting look of contempt flickered through his eyes, even as he shifted his grip on his left shoulder. 'You won't do it,' the look said, with certainty. 

He was right. She couldn't shoot him again. Even set on stun, another phaser bolt would almost certainly kill him, given the amount of damage Chakotay's body had already sustained. She couldn't do it. Defeat in her expression, she lowered the weapon. 'I'm sorry, Chakotay.' 

* * * 

Chakotay saw the Captain surrender, felt the distant surge of Eidolon's triumph, and steeled himself once more. This wasn't over yet. They were still alive. He would not give up until he saw the Captain lying dead on the floor, or felt the alien push him the rest of the way out of his body. Until then, he would keep fighting. Once again, he sawed at the bonds surrounding him. 

* * * 

When the voice came, Janeway did fall over. By this time, the random lights had coalesced into a single stream of pulses and a faint golden glow had lit the main console. A disembodied voice spoke and the Captain jumped, toppling to her knees. At that point it seemed easier to just keep going and she ended up sitting on the cavern floor, still clutching the phaser in fingers she could no longer feel. 

"Identify yourself," the voice said. Janeway struggled to form her customary response, but the voice hadn't been addressing her. Eidolon replied: 

"I am...a traveller. I am seeking the Shay'anari." 

"The Shay'anari have left this place." 

"Where?" His voice was sharp. 

There was a brief pause, then the voice continued. "They do not wish to be found." 

Frustration coloured Eidolon's voice. "What does that mean?" 

Sitting on the cold cavern floor, Janeway interrupted. "Who or what are you?" Her voice was little more than a faint whisper. 

"I am the last representative of the Shay'anari and the Guardian of their knowledge." 

Eidolon shot her an annoyed glance then returned his attention to the console, which flickered and twinkled in the gloom. "Answer my question. Where are they?" 

"Scattered. They do not wish to be found." 

"Why?" Janeway asked. 

"They felt responsible for..." 

Eidolon interrupted hastily. "Never mind that. Just tell me where they went. I grow tired of repeating myself."   
  
"This System has been programmed not to release that information." 

"I don't give a damn about your programming." Eidolon took a threatening step forward. "Tell me what I..." Abruptly he stopped, a look of agony crossing his face. He clutched at his head with his good hand and swayed. 

* * * 

Chakotay pushed harder at the bonds holding him. It was working. Eidolon was weakening. 

* * * 

Janeway blinked foggily. Then realization hit her like a laser blast. Chakotay was fighting back again, giving her time...to do what? She frowned, then spoke hastily. 

"Guardian...this man has stolen my First Officer's body. Is there any way to reverse this?" 

The lights on the console flickered, as if with surprise. "Identify yourself." 

Janeway straightened her shoulders slightly, and managed to say fairly steadily: "I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager. And I want my First Officer back. Now." She injected a note of command into her tone. 

Twin beams of light suddenly shot out of the far wall and engulfed both Janeway and Eidolon. The alien tottered, still clutching his head, then froze. On the ground, Janeway found herself unable to move so much as a fingertip. Every muscle seemed to have turned to stone. Which wasn't much of a loss, she decided, given that she hadn't been able to move much before... A second ray swept over her, leaving her skin tingling in its wake, then both vanished, and she fell forward, catching herself on one hand. For a moment she considered trying to get up but decided to stay where she was. 'I can talk just as well from down here, anyway,' she thought incoherently. 

A similar ray ran over Chakotay's body and vanished, but Eidolon remained imprisoned within the beam of light. Fury twisted his features as he fought to free himself. "Release me!"   
  
The Guardian ignored him. "This System has identified you as the criminal, Eidolon d'Vrath. You have been accused of stealing a host's body. How do you plead?" 

"I refuse to have anything to do with this...charade. I command you to release me." 

"Your voice authorization has been revoked. Please answer the question." 

"Innocent! I'm innocent, damn you." He was almost shouting. "Chakotay gave me this body. He willingly agreed to let me share it..." 

"Liar," Janeway said with venom. "He took it and tried to kill me." 

The computer turned its attention to her. "Captain Kathryn Janeway, do you formally charge Eidolon d'Vrath with stealing this host's body?" 

"I...Yes. And I want it back." 

"Eidolon d'Vrath. My analysis indicates that you are lying. You have stolen a host's body without permission. Furthermore, you have defied your sentence of exile. For these crimes, Shay'anari justice demands your instant and immediate death. Prepare yourself." 

Fear flickered through his eyes, then was gone. "You can't do that." The Guardian did not respond. The lighting in the cavern began to dim. Hastily, Eidolon spoke to Janeway. 

"Help me, Kathryn." 

She stared at him tiredly. "Why?"   
  
"Because if you don't, this body will be destroyed, and Chakotay will die too." He paused. When she said nothing, he continued hurriedly. "I lied. He's still alive. Help me and I'll return him to you." 

Janeway stared at him, sighed briefly, then turned to the central console. "Wait." 

There was a long pause, then: "Yes, Captain Kathryn Janeway?" 

She wet dry lips. "What exactly has he done?" 

"Eidolon d'Vrath has committed several crimes against both the Shay'anari and their hosts, including the theft of a host's body and the destruction of that persona." 

"A...host?" 

She could swear that the computer sighed. "The Shay'anari share corporeal existence with willing hosts in order to learn and travel. Eidolon d'Vrath violated their laws. He was sentenced to exile for his crimes, never to return upon pain of death." 

Eidolon interrupted, desperation in his voice. "Don't believe it, Kathryn. It's not true. I never killed anyone. Please..." 

"Shut up." She took a ragged breath. She was going to have to hurry. "Guardian -- What about Chakotay? What will happen to this 'host'?" 

There was a long pause. 

"Well?" She continued. "Look, I don't especially care what Eidolon has done in the past, and I certainly don't care what you do with him now, I just want my First Officer back. Can you do that?" 

The Guardian paused again. "Yes." 

"Why do I sense a 'but' coming?" 

The Guardian answered, but there was a note of hesitation in its voice. "Captain Kathryn Janeway, as injured party here, you have the right to request the immediate return of this host's body. However, the chances of this host being alive are remote." 

"He's still alive," she whispered firmly. "I'd know if he weren't." 

"There is more. This System's scans indicate that you have been infected with a virulent poison. This poison can be eradicated." 

"Er...what?" Fog seemed to be rolling through her mind. Did it just say...? 

"It is within this System's ability to cure you." 

Wild hope surged through her. "Then do it. Return Chakotay and cure me." 

"I am afraid that is not possible." 

"But you just said..." 

It was probably an illusion, but it almost sounded like there was a note of regret in the computer's voice. "Unfortunately, given the extreme length of time that this System has been operational, there is insufficient power available to perform both procedures. As injured party, it is your right to choose." 

Choose? What was it saying? Choose between her life and Chakotay's? How the hell was she supposed to do that? For a moment she felt dizzy from more than just the effects of the Gwari's poison. Her head spun, and the nausea returned with a vengeance. 

* * * 

'NO!' Chakotay shouted silently, futilely. Don't leave it up to her...he knew how she would decide, what she would choose... No, Kathryn! Don't do it, don't... He redoubled his efforts against Eidolon as the alien's grip on his mind continued to weaken. 

* * * 

In the end it wasn't a difficult decision. Janeway only had to ask herself if she could live with the knowledge that she had traded another's life for her own. She didn't even have to consider the depth of her emotions for her First Officer. The answer was easy. 

"Return my First Officer." There was no trace of doubt or hesitation in her voice. "Do it now." 

"Very well," the Guardian replied. "Kathryn Janeway, do you stand as witness?" 

'Only if I can do it from a sitting position,' she thought irreverently, trying to ignore the fact that she had just, in essence, committed suicide. She nodded. "Yes." 

"Eidolon d'Vrath, as representative of the Shay'anari, I hereby carry out your sentence..." 

* * * 

Suddenly Chakotay found himself toppling forward, back into his body. Shock and astonishment rippled through him. The wraith...was gone. 

* * * 

At the last possible moment, Eidolon leaped. He didn't leap physically. Chakotay's body remained firmly a prisoner in the light's grasp...but the essence that was Eidolon abruptly vacated that body, and dove straight into Janeway's. She had no warning and no strength left with which to fight. There was no struggle. One minute, Janeway was in control. The next, she wasn't. 

Chakotay drew a deep breath. He blinked and tensed his muscles against the Guardian's hold, ignoring the sudden onslaught f pain from his injuries that crashed over him. For a moment disorientation swept over him, then he saw Janeway climbing to her feet, the phaser aimed at the console. And he knew where Eidolon had gone. No! "Guardian, release me!" Chakotay yelled aloud, part of him revelling in the fact that he could do so. "He's taken Kathryn." The light around his body wavered, as if the computer were bewildered by the sudden shift in personalities. The energy pulses along the floor and walls flickered as if with confusion, then the invisible chains holding him vanished. Chakotay launched himself at his Captain. 

Eidolon was obviously better able to withstand the effects of the poison than Janeway. Hearing Chakotay, he whirled. Suddenly faced with a phaser aimed at his heart, Chakotay nevertheless continued his headlong rush toward her...him. Eidolon fired...and missed. The phaser bolt sizzled past Chakotay's side, but he did not pause. He hit the alien in a flying tackle and together they crashed to the ground, the phaser skittering away across the cavern floor. 

For the second time since their arrival on this planet, Janeway's fists connected solidly with Chakotay's jaw. Stars exploded behind his eyes, but he shook off the effects of the blow, and concentrated on pinning her wrists to the ground. His efforts to restrain her without hurting her were hampered by the waves of pain flowing through him as he jolted his injured shoulder. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he managed to pin the struggling woman beneath him. And in that instant he knew how to save her. 

"Guardian!" he shouted, "Now!" Instantly a cascade of pure white light hit them both. It didn't affect the Commander, beyond burning white spots onto his retinas but, beneath him, Janeway's body stiffened as the alien inside her screamed in mortal agony. Chakotay closed his eyes and his ears to her cry, fighting to keep Eidolon from rolling aside out of the light's path. It seemed to last forever...and then it was over. Beneath him, Janeway slumped back limply. 

Cautiously Chakotay eased his weight from her, prepared for any tricks. There were none. She was dazed, only half-conscious. He looked up. The lights in the cavern were dimming as the energy pulses randomized again then began to fade one by one. Even as he watched, he became aware of a low rumbling coming from the ceiling. Shards of rock began to fall. 

"Guardian?" he asked hoarsely, trying to protect the Captain with his body as larger stones rained down on them both. There was no answer. The last few pulses in the ceiling winked once or twice, then vanished altogether. The light began to fade. 

Chakotay didn't hesitate. With a muffled groan, he reached down and dragged the Captain upright, flinging her over his good shoulder. Steadying her body with one hand, he rose, turned, and headed for the entrance at his fastest pace. Behind him, the console was rapidly being buried in an avalanche of rocks and stones. He cast one last look at it before diving forward to avoid an enormous boulder that crashed down only inches behind them. And then they were at the exit...and safety. Chakotay stumbled forward into the sunlight and collapsed, retaining only enough presence of mind to cushion Janeway as they fell to the sandy ground. Behind him, the entrance to the cave vanished in a hail of rocks and dirt. Slowly, the rumbling subsided.   


END OF PART 6


	7. Chapter 7

**THE WRAITHS TRILOGY:**   
**EIDOLON**   
by Avalon (avalon99@telusplanet.net)   
http://members.dencity.com/avalon_online   
J/C, PG-13, 7/7   


* * *

EIDOLON VII 

  


Chakotay opened his eyes reluctantly. He hurt. All over. Pain shot through his shoulder like fire and the effects of his concussion were making themselves known in no uncertain terms. Nonetheless, he pulled himself into a sitting position and hastily turned to the woman beside him. With a hand that trembled slightly, he checked for a pulse, brushing her throat where several bruises were already forming -- bruises that matched the span of his fingers. The remorse that swept over him far outweighed the pain in his shoulder. He had done this to her... 

At his touch, she stirred and groaned. Remorse turned to relief within him. "Kathryn?"   
  
Her eyes flickered open. "Chakotay?" 

"Yes." 

Janeway stared at him blankly for a moment, then stiffened as memory assailed her. The cave, the guardian...Eidolon... that awful moment when the alien had brushed her aside, slamming her into some dark corner of her mind. She shuddered, then took a deep breath. There was no trace of him in her mind...just the bitter echoes of something she would rather forget. She forced herself to relax. It was over. For a moment she allowed herself the luxury of staring into a pair of brown eyes that did not contain an unknown entity. Just...Chakotay. And a rather worn-looking Chakotay at the moment. She gave him a tiny smile. 

"Is that really you?" 

"Yes. Although I might ask you the same..." 

Her smile faded. "Eidolon...is gone." Astonishment rippled through her as she realized that the overwhelming agony was gone as if it had never been, leaving only more mundane aches and pains from various parts of her body. She drew another deep breath, revelling in the ability to fill her lungs with oxygen. "And I seem to be cured. I guess the guardian had enough power after all." She glanced over her shoulder at the now-buried cave entrance. "What happened?" 

Chakotay spoke wearily. "I think the computer self-destructed. Either that, or there wasn't enough power left to sustain its energy fields." 

Janeway swallowed, a shadow crossing her face. "So what happened to Eidolon?" 

"I don't know what the guardian did." Chakotay shook his head. "But he's gone." 

"Like a bad dream. Or a nightmare." she muttered to herself, then turned away from the cave. 

"Are you all right?" Chakotay's voice was laced with worry. 

Janeway thought about it for a moment, then replied with a note of surprise: "Yes. I am. Are you?" 

There were shadows in his eyes that hadn't been there before, she noticed. The few fleeting moments when Eidolon had been lodged in her mind had been enough to give her nightmares for weeks, she decided. So what must it be like for him? "Chakotay?" she asked softly. 

He didn't pretend to misunderstand her, but met her gaze evenly. "I won't say it was...easy...having someone sift through my thoughts and memories...but I'll survive." 

Compassion filled her. "Sometimes surviving isn't enough. If you want to...talk about it..." 

A pained smile pulled at his lips. "Maybe later, Captain. Right now, we have more mundane concerns." He turned to look at their surroundings, wincing a little as he moved his shoulder. 

Janeway's gaze sharpened as it fell on his injuries. "Your shoulder..." she said in sudden dismay. Her eyes met his, then dropped to the bruise forming on his jaw and the cuts over his left eye. 

Without warning, Chakotay smiled, suddenly very pleased to be alive and in control of his body, despite its condition. The shadows in his eyes vanished. "Remind me never to make you angry, Captain," he continued. "Or to be prepared to duck, if I do." 

She caught his mood and smiled back. "I will." The smile turned to a grimace as she stretched out a hand and eased herself on to one knee. It didn't hurt quite as much as she had expected. The headache that was pulsing through her temples increased in magnitude but she found she could ignore it if she moved carefully and tried not to blink. Or breathe. Chakotay lent her his right arm, and together they climbed to their feet. For a moment they stood clutching each other's arms, swaying slightly. Janeway looked up at her First Officer and a breath of laughter escaped her. "You look like hell, Commander." 

"So do you, Captain." 

"Flatterer." She stepped back, released him, and glanced around, shading her eyes. The orange sun had sank lower in the sky and no birds sailed through the empty sky. Janeway stood motionless for a moment, taking stock. 

"Now what?" Chakotay asked. "Do we head back to the shuttle?" 

She cast him a quick glance, her eyes going once more to the wound on his shoulder. "I don't think either of us is in any condition to repeat that hike, do you?" She turned aside and muttered to herself. "And the only way I'm crossing that ravine again is unconscious." 

Chakotay heard her, but said nothing, a small smile crossing his face. Instead, hesitantly, he put a hand on her shoulder. She did not pull away. For a moment they stood facing the sinking sun as shadows lengthened across the rust-coloured ground. 

* * * 

Janeway had been adamant about not trusting the rock bridge over the ravine again, so instead they had gone deeper into the gorge, seeking water. After a walk that left them both breathless and reeling with exhaustion, they had found a small stream. Chakotay bent his efforts toward building a fire while Janeway struggled to rip a piece of material from the sleeve of her uniform. Finally, after a tug-of-war with the stubborn fabric that ended in success and more sore muscles, she turned to her First Officer. 

"Take your shirt off." 

"I think I need some more hair." 

They both spoke at once, then paused. "Er...what?" Chakotay asked. 

"I have to see to that wound. Take your shirt off. What did you say?" 

He glanced at the wood he had gathered. "I said I think I need some more hair to get this started." 

"What would you do if I were bald?" she asked, half-smiling. 

"Freeze?" 

Janeway's smile vanished as she watched him futilely rubbing two sticks together. "That can't be helping your shoulder," she said at last. 

"No. But it beats freezing." He was right. There was a distinct chill in the air as the orange sun sank lower over the horizon. Janeway sighed. 

"Here. Let me do that. You take your shirt off." 

He paused then handed the sticks over. "Aye aye, Captain." 

Janeway bent down awkwardly and took up where he had left off. After a moment she spoke. "Chakotay..." 

"Yes?" 

"When we get back to Voyager, I suggest we both take a basic survival course on the holodeck." 

"Good idea." His voice was muffled as he dragged the Starfleet shirt over his head. 

She ignored him, all her concentration focused on the tinder. After several moments, a small plume of smoke rose from the pile of dry twigs. It was working. Some more hasty rubbing, and a small but growing fire blazed before them. She added more twigs. 

The fire was a cheerful beacon in the twilight when she at last looked up...and froze. Chakotay had removed his shirt and stood before her, the firelight reflecting on his chest. Her mouth suddenly went dry and her heart-rate suddenly soared. It was the sight of the phaser wound on his shoulder that was sending her emotions into a tailspin, she told herself. Honestly. Janeway swallowed deeply then stood, wincing a little at the pain in her ribs. Dragging her gaze away from his chest...his large, muscular chest...she reached for the piece of material, soaking it in the stream. 

"Sit down." 

He obeyed. Janeway took a deep breath, then bent over his injury, steadfastly ignoring the fact that her First Officer was sitting half-naked before her. She did not meet his gaze. 

* * * 

By the time Janeway had washed the wound and bound it as well as she could with yet another piece of fabric from her uniform, stars were beginning to twinkle in the cloudless sky. The twin moons hung low near the horizon and the temperature had dropped rapidly. Janeway shivered, then sat back. 

"There. That's the best I can do. How does that feel?" 

Chakotay flexed his arm experimentally, then gave her a half-smile. "Not bad." 

"Good, because I don't have much uniform left to sacrifice." 

He gave her an enigmatic look, then tested his arm again. "Nice field dressing. Are you sure you were never with the Maquis?" 

"Do you think they would have taken me?" she asked whimsically. 

"In a second. We always needed good pilots and people with basic medical skills." 

She laughed out loud. "Pilots? You _did_ see what I did to the shuttle, didn't you?" 

"Yes. I was impressed." 

"I crashed it." 

"You also made it do things it was never designed to do. I haven't seen flying like that in a long time...if ever." There was an unmistakable flash of admiration in his eyes. 

Suddenly uncomfortable, Janeway looked away. "I was... inspired. Here." She handed him his shirt then looked away. "Put that back on before you freeze." 

He reached for it. As he did, his fingers brushed hers, and she shivered again. "Cold?" he asked as he struggled awkwardly to pull the shirt over his naked chest. Janeway steadfastly stared on a distant boulder. 

"Um. No. I'm quite warm actually." Then she could have bitten her tongue. That did _not_ come out the way she intended. She cast him a sideways glance and, for a moment, their eyes met and locked. She couldn't look away, couldn't blink... 

"Kathryn." 

'Oh no. Here it comes. Don't say anything, please,' she thought desperately at him. Hastily she scrambled to her feet, wincing inwardly as she put more weight on her injured leg than she should have. "I think the fire needs a little more wood..." She limped a pace away. 

A hand on her arm stopped her, and she reluctantly looked back at him. "Kathryn," he said again, "I'm...sorry." 

Janeway blinked. "About what?" 

"About what happened. What Eidolon...what _I _did to you... I should..." 

"You did nothing," she interrupted. "You are not responsible for anything that happened." 

"I _feel_ responsible." 

Janeway closed her eyes for a moment, blotting out the pain on his face. But he continued remorselessly. 

"I swore I would never hurt you and..." 

She couldn't let him do this. Couldn't let him blame himself. Unconsciously, she twisted her arm in his grasp, her fingers sliding up to take his. She opened her eyes and met his gaze unflinchingly. 

"Listen to me, Chakotay. What Eidolon did...and said... was not your fault. It was no one's fault but Eidolon's. Stop blaming yourself."   
  
"I should have been able to stop him." 

"You did stop him." Her voice strengthened. "You stopped him from killing me by the ravine and you bought me time in the cavern. And you stopped him from...letting _me_ kill you. I...I haven't thanked you for that..." 

"Kathryn..." 

"No. Let me finish. I...have things to apologize for..." 

"Whatever you did was self-defence..." 

"It was..." 

aneway broke off, and they stared at each other for a long moment. A faint smile formed on her lips. "Tell you what," she said with mock seriousness, "I'll forgive you for hitting me and trying to strangle me, if you forgive me for hitting you with a rock, and shooting you. We'll blame everything else on Eidolon and the crash. Deal?" 

Chakotay paused for a long moment, staring intently into her eyes, then he too smiled. "Deal." He tightened his grip on her hand, then reluctantly released her. She moved away slightly and sank down by the fire. Chakotay remained where he was. 

"I suppose it's not every First Officer who gets to deck his Captain on the bridge of a starship," he said lightly. 

She cast him a warm look. "And Captains very seldom get to shoot their First Officers. I think there's some sort of regulation against it..." 

He smiled and painfully levered himself up to move around the fire. He bent to toss another piece of wood into the flames then sat down beside her. 

"Still," Janeway continued, "I think early on some of the crew were taking bets as to how long it would take before we tried to kill each other."   
  
Chakotay glanced at her. "Either that or how long it would be before we...Um." He broke off and looked away. 

"Before we...?" She stopped abruptly, feeling her cheeks suddenly flame hotter than the fire. 

"Er...before we got home.," he said lamely. A long moment passed then he looked at her again. "Kathryn?" 

"Yes?" It came out as a muffled squeak. Silently she cursed her voice and her flaming cheeks. 

"How did you know it wasn't me?" 

"Excuse me?" Surprise made her turn to him. 

"On Voyager. How did you know it was Eidolon, and not me?" 

"I'm...not sure." She frowned, trying to put her thoughts into some coherent order. "I...I've gotten to know you...better...over the last two years. You've been the best First Officer I could have asked for...and a good friend." She glanced away, then steadfastly returned her gaze, meeting his eyes. "You asked me how I knew it was Eidolon. I didn't. I just knew it wasn't you." 

Chakotay looked at her for a long moment. "Thank you," he said softly. She smiled crookedly at him, then turned away to gaze pensively into the fire. A companionable silence fell between them. 

* * * 

Janeway was cold, and growing colder by the minute. Even the fire couldn't dispel the coolness of the desert night and she shivered surreptitiously. Chakotay glanced at her. 

"Cold?" he asked again. 

"A little." 

He paused then edged closer to her, moving somewhat stiffly. After a moment's hesitation he placed his right arm around her shoulders. Janeway stiffened for a moment, then relaxed, leaning into his warmth. Neither of them spoke for a long while. The only sounds were the crackling of the flames and the faint murmur of the wind. 

Finally Janeway broke the silence. "Who were the Shay'anari, do you think?" 

"I'm not sure. They had to be a very advanced race. They built the guardian, exiled Eidolon to space..." 

Janeway sighed and unconsciously leaned closer into his side. His grip tightened around her shoulders. "Eidolon. I wonder why he came here. Surely he must have known what would happen if he defied his exile..." 

"I think...that he just wanted to go home." 

Janeway looked up at her First Officer in surprise. He didn't meet her eyes, staring broodingly instead into the flames. At last he continued. "I couldn't read his thoughts and memories like he could mine, but there was a sensation -- a feeling -- of loneliness...and a desire to rejoin his people." His eyes met hers. "I think he was willing to risk anything...to go home again." 

"Then he was right after all." Janeway spoke softly, almost to herself. Chakotay raised an eyebrow questioningly. "It seems we had more in common than I thought." 

* * * 

The away team from Voyager moved hurriedly over the rocky ground in the early dawn light. Tuvok lengthened his pace as the others struggled to keep up, phasers drawn. They rounded a corner together...and came to a sudden halt. 

Janeway and Chakotay were asleep near the cooling ashes of their fire. Her head rested on his chest, one hand just below his communicator pin, while his right arm trailed loosely along her shoulders. Both looked dishevelled and exhausted. Paris and Kim exchanged a quick glance. 

Tuvok stepped forward, his phaser ready. "Captain." 

Janeway and Chakotay both jumped, coming suddenly awake. His arm tightened instinctively around her as she stared blankly up at her rescuers. 

"Captain, move away from him." 

She blinked, then memory returned in a rush. "No Tuvok." Her voice was hoarse and she coughed once. "It's okay. It's Commander Chakotay." 

"Are you speaking under duress, Captain?" 

Duress? No. Stress, exhaustion, and pain, maybe, but not duress. "No," she said aloud. "Commander Chakotay was...under the control of an alien force, but that alien is gone. Destroyed." She cast Tuvok an assertive look. "Put those away." She nodded toward their weapons. 

The Vulcan stared at them impassively for a moment, then slowly lowered the weapon. Paris and Kim followed suit.   
Suddenly Janeway realized that she was still locked in a close embrace with Chakotay. Hastily she pulled back...and almost fell over. Every muscle had stiffened up during the night, and the pain was almost as bad as it had been from the Gwari's poison. Almost. Wincing, she brushed her hair back from her eyes as Chakotay removed his arm from her shoulders. She glanced at him. He looked worse than she felt -- if such a thing were possible. For a moment they shared a private look then she was reaching a hand up to Tuvok, who pulled her to her feet. 

"Are you all right, Captain?" 

Janeway suppressed a yelp as her leg protested at the sudden increase in weight and the pain in her ribs reached new heights. She bit back a retort. 'Careful Kathryn,' she thought, 'don't whimper in front of the Ensign.' She managed a smile for them. "Yes. I am now." 

Beside her, Chakotay climbed to his feet, unaided. There was a brief moment of tension, then the Vulcan turned to him. 

"Welcome back, Commander Chakotay." 

"Thank you. It's good to be back." 

Tuvok turned to Janeway. "The ship is in orbit. We can beam you both straight to sickbay." 

She nodded. "How did you find us so quickly? I thought the repairs to Voyager would take much longer." 

"The crew worked around the clock to repair the damage. Lieutenant Torres and her team never left Engineering." 

For a moment Janeway felt an absurd desire to cry. Or to throw her arms around the Vulcan and hug him. As both would have made him equally uncomfortable, she refrained from either, contenting herself with a grateful smile. 

Chakotay interrupted. "How much damage did the ship sustain?" 

Tuvok glanced at him. "The damage was significant." He returned his attention to Janeway. "Captain. May I suggest we discuss this on Voyager? You and Commander Chakotay obviously require immediate medical attention." 

Janeway bit back the rest of her questions and nodded. She glanced at Chakotay then moved into formation with the others as Tuvok reached for his communicator. "Yes," she said quietly, "We have a lot to talk about." 

As the others moved to flank them, Janeway's eyes slid sideways to meet Chakotay's, which did not waver from hers. For a single heartbeat, they held each other's gaze, then, at the last moment, acting on some impulse she could not identify, the Captain reached out and took his hand, holding tightly to it. Together they disappeared into an electronic mist. 

THE END OF "EIDOLON"   
TO BE CONTINUED IN "SURVIVAL INSTINCT" 


End file.
